In his mission to cultivate and expand the cultural relations between Zimbabwe and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Zimbabwe, Mr Hamid Bakhtiyar today May 17, 2023 paid a courtesy call on the Director of Zimbabwe’s National Museums and Monuments, Dr Godfrey Mahachi at his offices in Harare.

In his welcome remarks, Dr Mahachi praised Iran’s rich archeological history. He said Zimbabwe wants to tap into Iran’s rich experiences in archeology and in museum management for the growth and development of museums in Zimbabwe.

Dr Mahachi said Zimbabwe boasts of only four special purpose large museums which are located in Zimbabwe’s main cities. His department also has smaller museums dotted around the country which tap from the resources and natural history of that particular area.

He said Zimbabwe was in the process of developing and upgrading the former war of liberation heritage sites located in Zimbabwe’s neighboring countries that served as rear bases for the former liberation fighters during Zimbabwe’s war of liberation in the 1970s.

Dr Mahachi requested and encouraged Mr Bakhtiyar to visit Zimbabwe’s museums located in other towns like Bulawayo and Masvingo in order to familiarize himself with the rich cultural heritage of Zimbabwe as captured by the artifacts stored in the museums.

In response, Mr Bakhtiyar said Iran was ready to fully cooperate with Zimbabwe in the area of museum management.

He said this cooperation can be further formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Zimbabwe and Iran museum Authorities.

He further noted that the proposed MoU should provide for an all-inclusive cooperation between the two institutions in areas of joint exhibitions and capacity building through training, among other provisions.

He said Iran boasts of some of the world’s oldest historical artefacts.

After the meeting, Mr Bakhtiyar was then taken on a guided tour of the Museum of Human Sciences by its director, Mr Bvocho and some of the archaeologists attached to the museum.

He was taken to all the galleries of the museum where he came face to face with the evolution of the Zimbabwe people from the stone age period, the growth of the Zimbabwe state from that era as well as to the evolution and growth of the Zimbabwe cultural systems from that same period up to day.

Mr Bakhtiyar was faced with the reality that although the museum boasts of some of the best historical artefacts in the world, those wares cannot be fully displayed due to space limitations. Mr Bvocho told Mr Bakhtiyar that the museum was now too small to accommodate all the artefacts.

He also said the museum was facing challenges of documenting artefacts that were dumped in the museum during the colonial period, as well as challenges to do with scientific research and testing of some of the artefacts that were randomly stored in the museum.

Mr Bvochora asked Mr Bakhtiyar to facilitate the further training of professionals manning the museums in Zimbabwe in museum management as that skill was lacking in Zimbabwe museums.

Mr Bakhtiyar who was so impressed with the tour, promised to facilitate the inclusion of all the museum management’s concerns into the draft MoU for the benefit of all the parties.