The Kazakh delegation of writers and book publishers, headed by the Chairman of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan, Ulyqbek Esdaulet, took part in the annual International Book Fair, held in Riyadh on October 4-8 this year

The event was organized by the Committee of Literature, Publishing, and Translation under the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia. One thousand two hundred (1200) publishing houses from 36 countries participated in the Book Fair and displayed their products.

The Riyadh International Book Fair is an important cultural event in the Arab world. It is one of the largest Arab book fairs regarding the number of visitors, sales, and variety of its artistic programs. All well-known Arab regional and international publishers are attending this event. Thus, the Riyadh International Book Fair program included 71 cultural seminars, 55 events for children, 22 different master classes in publishing, 10 dialogues with authors, 9 concerts, 7 poetry evenings and 6 theatrical performances.

According to the organizers, the number of visitors to the exhibition amounted to 150 thousand of people a day. The Riyadh International Book Fair makes a significant contribution to the literary life of Saudi Arabia, acting as a cultural bridge of understanding and rapprochement between peoples.

Within the framework of this event, the Kazakh delegation held several meetings with writers and heads of publishing houses from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, etc. They discussed the current state of modern book publishing and translations, as well as possible areas of cooperation.

The Kazakh delegation also met with Dr. Mohammed Hassan Alwan, the Head of the literature, translation, and publishing department at the Saudi Culture Ministry, and the heads of translation and publishing departments.

During the meeting, the parties agreed on cooperation in translating the works of famous Saudi writers into Kazakh and Kazakh writers into Arabic, establishing direct contacts between Kazakh and Saudi publishing houses.

Besides, the Kazakh delegation visited the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Riyadh. During the meeting with Ambassador Berik Aryn, the Chairman of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan expressed gratitude for organizing this visit to Saudi Arabia. Ulyqbek Esdaulet stressed that such events provide an excellent opportunity to establish business contacts with partners in the Arab world, where book publishing and translation business are in advanced positions.

Ambassador Berik Aryn highly appreciated the outcomes of the participation of the Kazakh delegation, noting that the Embassy will continue to assist in expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of literature and book publishing between Kazakh and Saudi writers and publishing houses.