Irene Marcos Araneta, sister of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., welcomed at KFU’s History Museum

The introductory visit traditionally began with a tour of the main exhibition at the Kazan University History Museum. Afterward, Elmira Amerkhanova, Deputy Director for Research at the Lobachevsky Scientific Library, showed the guest exhibits from the Manuscripts and Rare Books Department. Ms. Marcos Araneta was particularly interested in the 16th-century maps showing the Philippine Islands.

Following the tour, Timirkhan Alishev, Vice-Rector for International Affairs, gave a presentation about KFU, introducing the delegation to the university’s current activities and achievements. At the end of the visit, the Vice-Rector presented the guest with a commemorative album of Kazan University and a headscarf designed by students of the Institute of Design and Spatial Arts.

The delegation of the Republic of the Philippines, led by Ms. Irene Marcos Araneta, was shown unique literary treasures related to the cartographic representation of Southeast Asia.

The distinguished guests were presented with two cartographic sources: the Mercator Atlas, a work by the 16th-century Flemish geographer, and a mid-18th-century atlas by the German cartographer Haltzendorff, which more accurately depicts the geographic coordinates of all of Southeast Asia. As a sign of respect for the primary religion of the Philippines, Catholicism, the delegation was shown a lavishly illustrated volume of the glorification of the Virgin Mary, Officium Beatae Mariae Virginis, published in Antwerp in 1652.

Earlier in the days of the Russia-ASEAN Summit in Kazan, the university was visited by high officials and representatives of Vietnam, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.