Minister of Culture Inaugurates Ramadan Book Fair in Souq Waqif

Doha, April 08 (QNA) - HE Minister of Culture Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani , inaugurated this evening Ramadan Book Fair, which is organized by the Ministry of Culture, represented by the Qatar Cultural and Heritage Events Center, and will continue until April 16, in the western square of Souq Waqif.
His Excellency, during a tour inside the exhibition, was briefed on the most important publications and titles presented by publishing houses, participating Qatari authorities, and Arab and foreign publishing houses. 35 publishers from Qatar and 9 other countries are participating in the exhibition, which is being held for the first time: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, India and Australia.
The opening was attended by HE Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari, Minister of State and President of Qatar National Library, and a group of intellectuals, and writers.
On this occasion, Dr. Ghanem bin Mubarak Al-Ali, Advisor to HE the Minister of Culture and Director of Qatar Cultural and Heritage Events Center, said in a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that Ramadan Book Fair is an extension of the Doha International Book Fair, as the Ministry of Culture seeks to localize and publish books in Qatar by being in a public place such as Souq Waqif, noting that the exhibition will be organized annually, especially in light of the large public turnout that has appeared since the opening.
On the strategy of the Ministry of Culture and its mechanisms for localizing books in Qatar, Dr. Ghanem bin Mubarak Al-Ali told (QNA) that the ministry began to localize books through many events and mechanisms, including book fairs, in addition to cultural seminars and workshops accompanying the exhibitions, in addition to partnerships between them and educational institutions such as Qatar University and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, as well as with Qatar Foundation and the Ministry of Endowments, which are cooperating in organizing this exhibition, He explained that these mechanisms are part of the strategy of the Ministry of Culture to localize the book, provided that there will be other mechanisms during the next stage.
Regarding the facilities provided by the Ministry of Culture to Qatari publishers and others participating in the exhibition, Al-Ali said that the Ministry of Culture has already provided facilities and special support to Qatari publishing houses and other houses, praising the outstanding turnout from Arab and foreign publishing houses during the first edition of the Ramadan Book Fair, which stimulates the exhibitions expansion during next years. (QNA)