Abdullah bin Zayed tours NMC and MoCKD's pavilions at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

ABU DHABI, 28th April, 2016 (WAM) – H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has visited the National Media Council (NMC) pavilion at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which opened yesterday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). During his visit, Sheikh Abdullah was briefed by Mansour Al Mansouri, NMC Acting Director-General, in the presence of Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State (Chairman of the Board of Directors of NMC, about the National Media Council's activities and events at the fair which runs until 3rd May. The NMC's participation in the exhibition is in line with the declaration of 2016 as the 'Year of Reading' by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to adopt initiatives and programmes that promote and encourage reading within the UAE society. Al Mansouri said, "The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is an ideal platform to introduce the NMC's services especially for content and publishing permits for literary work, as the exhibition attracts a large number of publishing houses, writers and other institutions from the sector." Sheikh Abdulla also visited the stand of the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Sheikh Abdullah, who was accompanied by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, was received by the Ministry's Under-Secretary Afra Al Saberi, who gave a brief about the contents of the stand, including rare collections of calligraphy and art works. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan praised the support given by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces to the cultural scene in the UAE and his patronage of the annual book fair in Abu Dhabi which led it to be one of the biggest events of its kind. Sheikh Nahyan also underlined Sheikh Abdullah's keen attention on culture and arts in the UAE. He added that the ministry's stand adopted this year a theme that runs in consistence with the initiative of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to mark 2016 as the Year of Reading. – Emirates News Agency, WAM