The signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Shanghai Library and the National Library and Archives of Iran to establish the "Window of Shanghai" was held in the National Library and Archives of Iran, Tehran, on May 26, 2013. He Yi, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Library and Ali Akbar Safipour, Director of the National Library and Archives of Iran jointly attended the signing ceremony and delivered warm speeches.

China and Iran are both ancient civilizations and are trying to develop the economy while seeking to maintain their own cultural traditions and values. To further enhance friendship, conduct cooperation, develop unique collections, actively carry out cultural exchanges and disseminate excellent national cultures, and with the strong support of the Iran Consulate General in Shanghai, the Shanghai Library and the National Library and Archives of Iran signed the Memorandum of Cooperation to establish a "Window of Shanghai" in Tehran, writing yet another new chapter for the bilateral cultural exchanges. Both parties believe that in the future, the establishment of the “Window of Shanghai” will allow more and more Iranian people to know China, understand China and make new contributions to the Sino-Iranian cultural exchanges.

The National Library and Archives of Iran was established in 1939, focusing on the collection of publications on Iran studies and Islam, children's books, library science and reference books, Persian and Arabic works, manuscripts and audio-visual materials. The collection related to China contains 1,648 books, 45 dissertations, 11 magazines, 7 books of prints, 16 manuscripts, 137 reports and 4,210 articles.

The "Window of Shanghai" is a cultural exchange program based on book donation. In 2002, the Shanghai Library launched the "Window of Shanghai" project, with the purpose to supplement the inadequacy of Chinese collections at the libraries overseas, so that there are more opportunities for overseas readers to read the latest publications from China and learn more about the Chinese culture.