UAE ‘Guest of Honour’ at 17th Amman book fair
The UAE is the Guest of Honour at the 17th Amman International Book Fair. The annual event, which will this year feature publishers from 19 countries including China, India, Canada, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UK, opens on Wednesday.
The fair includes a cultural programme with discussions about literary genres, film screenings and poetry readings. There will also be special activities for children such as creative writing and storytelling workshops.
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, said the invitation from Jordan reflected the longstanding relationship between the two countries.
“The cultural scene, in both countries, stems from the wise vision adopted by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, which is based on promoting the culture of tolerance and dialogue and spreading peace and harmony, ” said Sheikh Nahyan. “The UAE’s participation as a Guest of Honour this year in the Amman International Book Fair is only a natural extension of Arab culture, and highlights the distinguished relations, historical cooperation and unique partnerships between the two countries in different fields, especially in the cultural fields as both Emirati and Jordanian cultures are quite similar in their components.”
“The Amman International Book Fair is one of the most important literary and cultural events in the Arab region, where hundreds of publishing houses gather from all over the world. It provides a precious opportunity to display cultural products including books, thought and civilisation. The UAE’s participation as a Guest of Honour in the exhibition marks a new achievement for the cultural sector in our nation; by participating we don’t only share books, but we share our nation’s thought and culture and also highlight the UAE cultural movement”, said Sheikh Nahyan.
The 10-day Amman International Book Fair is organised by the Jordanian Publishers Union and Jordan’s culture ministry.