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Sharjah book fair is a big success

SHARJAH — The Sharjah International Book Fair has achieved huge sales and gained good profit in its 24 years — more than any other book fair that was launched in the Arab world.

This was stated by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, after inaugurating the book fair at the Sharjah Expo Centre yesterday.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dr Shaikh Sultan said that more than a thousand English and Arabic publishing houses from various parts of the world are participating in the fair every year to expand the space of knowledge for all nations. These publishing houses are not here only for the profit from the sale of books, but also to develop the standard of education and knowledge.

He explained: “These publishing houses followed our instructions of focusing this year on publishing more books for children to help them learn and improve their reading ability. Today, the only thing that attracts my attention is the large display of children’s books in every and each stall of these houses which implemented our directions of publishing more valuable books translated from Arabic to other languages and vice versa, in order to help in disseminating knowledge among all nations of the world.”

Dr Shaikh Sultan urged the parents to visit the fair and buy books for their children to instil in them the love of knowledge and encourage them to use their free time in reading. He hoped that the large sale of books would feed the minds of people, and not just decorate shelves of their houses, offices and schools.

Dr Shaikh Sultan, accompanied by government officials, directors of government and private departments and establishment in the emirate, toured all the halls of the fair which included stalls of various publishing houses and libraries of government departments.

He stopped at the Dubai Women’s Association stall where he received a book gift highlighting the achievements of the DWA during the last three years. He also visited the wing of the Pioneer Publishing House, which was among the firms that followed the instruction of Dr Shaikh Sultan in increasing the number of children’s books. The wing includes eight stalls displaying a large number of children’s books in English and Arabic.