The ceremony took place in the premises of the city hall of the Roskovec Municipality, where Ms. Majlinda Bufi, Mayor of Roskovec and Ms. Mimoza Hazizi, Director of the Public Library were also present together with the representatives from the municipality, library and the citizens of Roskovec.

During the handover ceremony, Ambassador KATO expressed her wishes that these books would provide the citizens of Roskovec a deeper understanding of Japan, its culture and society so that the cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two countries as well as the collaboration between Japan and the Municipality of Roskovec will be further strengthened.

Mayor Bufi showed her appreciation to The Nippon Foundation and the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, the Government of Japan for the generous donation and support. She emphasized that the donation holds a certain importance for the public library and that it contributes to the promotion of Japanese studies and culture in the city of Roskovec, as well as English language for local readers.
The READ JAPAN PROJECT was initiated by The Nippon Foundation in 2008 to promote the understanding of Japan through the donation of Japan related books in English to universities and libraries around the world. It has donated books to more than 1,300 institutions in the world. The project is administered by the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research with financial support from The Nippon Foundation. Currently 354 titles, with a wide range of categories such as politics, international relations, economy and business, society and culture, art, literature, history including Japanese manga, Japanese language learning materials and novels. Books are donated based on the request of applicants.

This is the 13th donation from The Nippon Foundation and the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research to Albania since its first donation in 2011. More than 1400 books were donated to universities and municipality libraries across Albania.

After the opening of the Embassy in 2017, relations between Japan and Albania have been strengthening and cooperation with Albanian institutions has been expanding through many initiatives and events.

The Embassy of Japan in Albania has also provided official development assistance to Roskovec Municipality through the grant scheme of the Government of Japan ‘Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects’ (GGP), with the aim of strengthening the waste management capabilities of the municipality.