Sultan Al Qasimi inaugurates the 33rd Sharjah International Book Fair

Sharjah (WAM): H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah said that the truth and virtue are two great books on earth surrounded by destruction The Ruler of Sharjah made the remark yesterday, while opening the activities of the 33rd edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair. The fair will be held from November 5 to 15 at Expo Centre Sharjah, with the participation of 1256 publishing houses from 59 countries. He added that "he works harder to dispel these dark clouds so that the light of truth and virtue may shine through books." Sheikh Sultan, "The Sharjah International Book Fair that celebrates its 33rd edition under the theme ‘Books for All’ is a great example of this position." The 33rd Edition of SIBF will see participation from 1256 publishers from 59 countries, with 35 non-Arab countries, including 12 countries participating for the first, which are Iceland, Fenland, Mexico, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Nigeria. In terms of number of publishers, the UAE is in the lead with 141 publishers, followed by Egypt with 140, Lebanon with 105, Russia with 75, Syria with 68, and India with 56. Participating publishers will present over 1.4 million titles in the fields of science, culture, knowledge, and languages. SIBF visitors this year can select from a list of 780 rich parallel activities, categorised in an intellectual program, a children program, a cooking station, a social media station, and other activities. Children activities come in the lead with 480 activities. A number of Arabic and international figures was also present at the fair, including American author Dan Brown, renowned Egyptian actor Adel Imam, former Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmad Abu Al Ghait, former Pakistan Ambassador at the USA Husain Haqqani, novelist and poet Ahlam Mustaghanmi, Princess Ameera al-Taweel, Major General Humaid Mohamed Al Hadidi, Commander in Chief of Sharjah Police, and Major General Khamis Mattar Al Muzaina, Commander in Chief of Dubai Police, former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor, TV anchor Hamdi Kandil, Dr. Ahmed Omar Hashim, former president of Azhar University, Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra, Dr. Ahmad Amara, Pakistani writer Kamila Shamsie, and Australian author of Arabic origins Randa Abdel Fattah. Launched in 1982, SIBF is one of the most prominent book fairs in the world. It comes in the fourth rank internationally in terms of buying and selling intellectual property rights. With the continued support and directions graciously extended by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, SIBF has succeeded in occupying a leading position among international book fairs, side by side with international events such as Frankfurt Book Fair, London Book fair, and book fairs in the USA. - Emirates News Agency, WAM