Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum closely cooperates with the world’s leading museums. According to the memorandums of cooperations signed between the museums, the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum holds thematic exhibitions and lectures on Azerbaijani carpet abroad, implements projects related to countries’ culture, organizes scientific conferences, carries out research work on Azerbaijani carpets stored in foreign museums’ collections and prepares a catalogue about them. All of this has been made possible by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev’s decree on the preservation and development of the Azerbaijani carpet art.

The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum became the first museum in our country that established cooperation with museums in Morocco, a country that is part of the African-Arab region.

Being on a visit to Morocco within the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Azerbaijan and the National Foundation of Museums of the Kingdom of Morocco, Shirin Melikova, Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum held several meetings and signed memorandums of cooperation.

During her meeting with Mr. El Hassan Abyaba, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, the minister suggested organizing a program that unites the cultures of the two countries. The program provides several projects to promote music, museum work, and the national cultural heritage of both countries.

During this meeting, Shirin Melikova conveyed greetings from Abulfas Garayev, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, provided information on successful work in the political, economic and cultural sphere by the state, especially in the field of preserving the national heritage, and discussed possibilities to develop cultural relations and organize joint projects.

At the end of the meeting, Dr. Melikova presented a book dedicated to the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum’s 50th anniversary to the Minister of Morocco.

Shirin Melikova also held a meeting at the National Foundation of Museums of the Kingdom of Morocco. The objectives of the National Foundation of Museums, established in 2011, are to develop the museum sphere, educate museum staff, hold exhibitions of world-known museums in Morocco, and promote Moroccan art in the world. The Fund has already contributed to the opening of five museums. These are the Museum of History and Civilizations, the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Museum of Photographic Documents (Rabat), the Dar El Bacha – Musée des Confluences, and the Dar Si Said Moroccan Carpet and Weaving Museum (Marrakesh). It is also commendable that the museums, located in historic buildings, provide storage and restoration work. All work on the design and construction of the museum concepts is carried out by local specialists.

Today, the National Foundation of Museums of the Kingdom of Morocco collaborates with cultural institutions such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the State Hermitage Museum, the National Museum of China, the Louvre Museum, the Musée d'Orsay, and the Centre Pompidou. It’s a pleasure that the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum is now among these museums.

Later, Shirin Melikova met with Mehdi Qotbi, President of the National Foundation of Museums of the Kingdom of Morocco. During the bilateral meeting, they discussed joint projects and signed a memorandum of cooperation. It should be noted that this is the first cooperation agreement with museums in Morocco in the history of the museum sphere of Azerbaijan. Mr. Qotbi said that the national cultural heritage of friendly Azerbaijan, its traditions, customs, and contemporary art will be received with great interest in the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of 44 million people. The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, one of the world’s leading museums in its field, discussed issues of preservation, demonstration, and restoration of textile exhibits in museums in Morocco, exchange programs on Azerbaijani-Moroccan traditional carpet weaving and joint exhibitions.

The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum presented a Malibeyli carpet woven by its staff of the Traditional Technologies Department, and the museum’s publications Azerbaijan Carpet Museum – 50, Artistic Embroidery from the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum’s Collection, and Latif Karimov to the National Foundation of Museums of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Throughout her visit to the Kingdom of Morocco, Shirin Melikova got acquainted with the Museum of History and Civilizations and the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat. During a meeting with Abdelaziz El Idrissi, Director of the Museum of Modern Art, the parties exchanged their views on future joint projects and the organization of exhibitions to popularize the carpet heritage of the two countries.

Notably, the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is the leading museum in Morocco. This museum hosted the exhibition of the Louvre Museum, the Musée d’Orsay, the Center Pompidou, the Pablo Picasso Museum, and the First International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Rabat.

Shirin Melikova also visited the Dar El Bacha – Musée des Confluences, the Dar Si Said Moroccan Carpet and Weaving Museum, the Berber Tribal Museum, and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh. During her meeting with Salima Aitbarek, Director of both the Dar El Bacha – Musée des Confluences and the Dar Si Said Moroccan Carpet and Weaving Museum, she discussed future cooperation between the two cultural centers, including carpet weaving programs, as well as scientific research on our and Barber tribes’ carpet weaving.

Notably, Marrakech is the tourist capital of this country. This city annually welcomes many tourists and organizes international music and film festivals with the participation of renowned celebrities.

The cooperation between the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum and the cultural centers of the Kingdom of Morocco will give an efficacious impetus to the development of cultural relations between the two friendly peoples.