Fatima Muhammad

Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — The Kingdom will be the guest of honor in the 20th international books exhibition in Beijing, which will start from Aug. 28.



Minister of Higher Education Khaled Al-Anqari will lead the Saudi delegation to the five-day fair, which will be attended by 58 countries represented by 2,010 publishing houses.



Al-Anqari said the organizing committee had chosen the Kingdom to be the guest of honor due to its regional, Islamic and international stature. The decision was also a recognition of the Kingdom's efforts in supporting dialogue between cultures, religions and civilizations, he said.



Al-Anqari said the Kingdom is keen to participate in international books exhibitions, as it is a means to communicate between cultures.



Saudi Arabia participates in more than 28 international exhibitions annually.



The Kingdom had previously participated as the guest of honor in books exhibitions in Japan, the Czech Republic, the UAE, Morocco and Korea.



Participation in these exhibitions left positive impressions of Saudi Arabian culture, and the participation in the upcoming Beijing exhibition is an opportunity to showcase to the Chinese people the Kingdom's humanitarian concerns and its achievements in scientific and cultural fields, said the minister.



Al-Anqari expressed his gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for the support the ministry is receiving to strengthen cooperation and scientific exchange between the Kingdom and other countries of the world.



Hectic preparations are being made to take part in the Beijing event with a number of government and the private sector bodies. A scientific and cultural program has been readied and a number of publications, including a magazine in Arabic, Chinese and English, will be printed for distribution at the exhibition grounds.