Turkey to participate at TIBF more actively

2018-05-05 10:30

At a meeting with Iran's Deputy Culture Minister Mohsen Javadi in the 31st Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF), Turkish Ambassador to Iran said his country is determined to participate more actively at TIBF.

In this meeting, Reza Hakan Takin said that he believes the cultural ties between Iran and turkey is so strong, “Cultural ties between the two countries is significant, but I believe that in respect to the cultural similarities between the two nations, the ground is provided for more cooperation in this field”

“Unfortunately, we as governments are at times lag behind our nations, however, we are ready to boost our relations with the Iranian nation,” he noted.

Acknowledging that Tehran International Book Fair is a very significant event, the Turkish Ambassador to Tehran said: “It is the fourth time that I'm visiting Tehran Book Fair. Due to my personal interest in books, even if I had not been invited to Iran, I would have been visited this event.”

“One of the things which makes me so happy is that Iranian people are in good terms with books. In the new age of digital technology, people spend less and less time on reading books and prefer to spend their times with smartphones. So, the events like Tehran Book Fair can play a major role to make amends.” 

Referring to Iranian annual attendance in Istanbul Book Fair, he expressed his pleasure over Iran's annual presence at Istanbul International Book Fair. 

Elsewhere in his remarks, Mr. Hakan Takin pointed out: "We had problems for attending Tehran Book Fair and we couldn't make ourselves fully prepared. I suppose two Turkish publishing houses have participated in the event. On the other hand, we were informed rather late, otherwise I could convince Turkish officials to participate more actively in the event. This situation has only caused the by technical problems. We are ready for any cooperation with Iranian cultural officials and see this meeting as a new beginning for bilateral ties between the two nations.”

Establishment of a foundation for developing Persian language in Turkey

Following the session, Iran's Deputy Culture Minister Mohsen Javadi who also is the director of the 31st Tehran International Book Fair referred to the fact that Iran and Turkey cultural relations date back to centuries ago and said that a part of books which have been showcased in TIBF have come from Istanbul libraries.

“Regarding Tehran Book Fair, perhaps we should have provided the information much sooner, but due to the relocation of the fair which took a time for reorganization, we couldn’t do that,” Javadi said.

“Many Turkish books have attracted the attention of Iranian young generation and also Iranian books have a special status in Turkey,” he added. 

Deputy Culture Minister further said: “I hope discussions on establishing a foundation for the development of Persian language in Turkey as well as Iran and Turkey Cultural Association will continue.” 

Elsewhere in his remarks, Javadi said: “Many Iranians prefer to pay their tourist visits to Turkey; on the other hand, we can organize tourist visits for Turkish people to come to Iran and this way follow the relation bilaterally.”

“Other practical cultural programs from our side include the Grant Plan which is aimed to encourage the translation of Persian books into other languages, among them Turkish,” he added.

Deputy Culture Minister then gave information about the 31st Tehran International Book Fair: “In this edition, more than 300,000 titles of Persian books are put on public display. Half of these books have been published during the last two or three years. Moreover, 150,000 titles of books in Arabic, English and other languages are showcased. We estimate that about 3 to 4 million people visit the book fair; so it would be a good opportunity for Turkey to attend the next year’s edition of TIBF more dynamically.”

Director of International Committee of the 31st Tehran

Join Us: