On August 27, 2024, Dr. Irina F. Popova, Director of the IOM RAS, Corresponding member of the RAS, met with Mr. Ali Obaid Shalgam, Deputy Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities of the Republic of Iraq, the head of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, and Mr. Mustafa Jasim Al-Husseini, the head of the regional administration of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Basra. Mr. Alexei I. Jankowski-Diakonoff, Research Fellow at the Department of the Ancient Orient at the Institute of Oriental Studies RAS, the head of the Iraqi-Russian Multidisciplinary Project, also took part in the event.

One of the topics discussed was creating a training program at the IOM RAS for Iraqi restoration specialists that would improve their skills for working with manuscripts kept at collections in Iraq.

PHOTOS are available at the Russian website.