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The Riyadh International Book Fair 2014 was inaugurated by Culture and Information Minister Abdulaziz Khoja under the theme, “Books: An Arch-Bridge Connecting Civilizations,” at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center (RICEC) on Tuesday.
Khoja expressed gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and welcomed Spain as the guest of honor for 2014.
The book fair focused on Saudi-Spanish relations, Arabic manuscripts in Spain and Arabic literary works that were translated into Spanish.
“The book fair aims to facilitate and promote exchange between professionals whose jobs depend on books and reading in congregation,” said Khoja. “The exhibition accommodates more than 900 publishing houses from 21 countries, represented by 400 exhibitors from within the Kingdom and 1,300 foreign exhibitors.”
A large number of senior Saudi officials, intellectuals, publishers, scholars and writers were present to boost nationalization initiatives by the Saudi government. The 11-day book fair will open its doors for visitors on March 5 and for students between March 9 and 13.
The book fair aims to feature hundreds of national and international publishing houses, distributors and retail booksellers from Arab and non-Arab countries.
The book fair serves as a great networking platform for publishers, writers and scholars, as well as academic institutions.
A large number of books on Islam, Arab culture, medicine, law, science, technology and communication, in addition to biographical accounts, fiction and novels are available in the fair in Arabic, Persian, English, French, Turkish, Urdu and Spanish, among other languages.
Saleh Al-Ghamdi, director of the Riyadh International Book Fair, said: “There is a special pavilion for Saudis who wish to display and market their products.”
This event is being held for the second time as a form of encouragement from the Ministry of Culture and Information for young authors, he said.
The Riyadh International Book Fair is the most prominent book fair in the Middle East.