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JEDDAH: Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Makkah governor and adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, inaugurated Thursday the second Jeddah International Book Fair.
Among the dignitaries present were Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majid, Minister of Culture and Information Adel Al-Toraifi and a number of princes and officials.
After formally inaugurating the fair, Prince Khaled toured the pavilions of participating publishing houses and companies, which represent 450 local, GCC, Arab and international publishing houses from 30 countries.
Later, the prince honored the sponsoring and supporting bodies of the event, and a number of cultural figures including Mohammed Ali Hafiz in the area of media, Mohammed Ali Alwan (novels and literature), and Fatinah Khatib (women’s empowerment).
Prince Mishaal praised Prince Khaled for the sponsoring the cultural mega event in Jeddah, which is known for its cultural heritage.
Prince Mishal said the opening of the fair embodies the directives of the leadership for spreading culture, science, knowledge and the arts in their capacity as major components of the Kingdom’s social and cultural life, and as a booster to the spirit of belonging to the country, with the consolidation of human communication through books as an ideal means to support civilizations and cultures in the world.
He said the book fair represents a quantum leap for cultural values, and will support the publishing and knowledge movement, and embrace writers and intellectuals.
The fair is open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fair organizers expect more than 70,000 people, representing different sections of society, to visit the fair daily.