Over 4000 publishers from IRI and 77 other countries on hand in 25th TIBF event

1391/02/14-08:30

Over 4,000 publishers from the Islamic Republic of Iran and 77 other countries have joined the 25th edition of Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF ), excluding electronic publishers, TIBF President Bahman Dorri told an opening ceremony of the landmark cultural event on Tuesday, according to IBNA.

The 25th edition of the major international event was inaugurated on May 1 in a ceremony where top authorities were at hand, including IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Sayyed Muhammad Husseini, and his deputy in cultural affairs, Bahman Dorri who directs the 25th cultural event.

The 25th edition of Tehran International Book Fair opened in Imam Khomeini Mosalla (Grand Mosque), north of Tehran under the motto of “a quarter of century of cultural Jihad” in reference to the number of editions the cultural event has been staged after the 1979 revolution.

A documentary was screened at the start of the ceremony showing preparation and mobilization efforts for the international publication event.

The TIBF president opened his speech by reciting a New Year Day Prayer by which Muslims appeal to God to enliven their hearts and temperaments.

Mr. Dorri then greeted the state authorities as well as participating publishers and foreign guests, adding that in God’s favor, the 25th TIBF started in a year designated by the Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei as year of national production and support to Iranian labor and capital.

The TIBF president expressed hope this year’s edition of book fair would be recorded as the best edition in the history of the Islamic Republic in terms of performance and achievements.

According to Mr. Dorri, over 4,000 publishers from the Islamic Republic and 77 other countries were on hand in the book fair, having put up to 400,000 titles on stalls, apart from e-books available in the fair.

The TIBF president said special sections in the fair were dedicated to the case of Islamic Awakening movement in the Middle East and North Africa as well as a quarter of century of post-revolutionary cultural campaign in the Islamic Republic of Iran, adding that top organizers of the previous editions fair will be praised in a special ceremony.

The TIBF head said a special hall called ‘the Hall of Yas’ was dedicated in the fair to display the records and performance of the Islamic Republic of Iran ever in the field of book and publication. He urged everyone to spend time to inspect the hall.

The TIBF president said the 25th edition of the landmark international event has witnessed a boost in foreign presence in terms of number of foreign states on hand and titles on show despite a series of sanctions exposed on the Islamic Republic by several Western countries. In a preceding edition, publishers of 67 foreign countries have their titles put on TIBF stalls.

Egyptian representatives have joined the TIBF event for a first time ever with 10 publishers from the country displaying their latest publications in the fair, according to the TIBF president.