Muscat: Oman is the guest of honour at the Riyadh International Book Fair, which opened last week and will continue until October 7. Over 1,800 publishing houses from 32 countries are taking part in the book fair at The King Saud University under the slogan "An Inspiring Destination."
"The participation of the Sultanate of Oman as a guest of honour in the Riyadh International Book Fair comes as an affirmation of the bonds of love between the two countries, and an embodiment of the distinguished cultural relations. It is a major event for the Sultanate of Oman to introduce its cultural, historical, intellectual, literary and artistic achievements to other countries," said Sayyid Said bin Sultan al Busaidy, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for Culture.
Khalfan bin Mohammed al Abri, Director of the Department of Exhibitions Affairs at the MoCSY, explained that Oman’s pavilion at the book fair has representations from the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Sultan Qaboos University, the Culture Club, the Omani Society of Writers and Literati, and the Oman Memory Centre.
The pavilion displays rare manuscripts, publications, short tourism videos and a VR corner. It introduces visitors to Omani customs and traditions. Omani folk artistes are also performing at the fair.
Hassan bin Obaid al Matroushi, another MoCSY official, said the Omani delegation is taking part in lectures, poetry recitals, seminars, workshops and discussions.
He explained that the programme also includes a session on the Omani figures included in the UNESCO list like scholar Al Khalil bin Ahmed al Farahidi, navigator Ahmed bin Majid al Saadi, physician Ibn Amira, physicist Ibn al Dhahabi, poet Abu Muslim al Bahlani, and Shaikh Nour Al Din al Salmi.
Omar bin Mubarak al Omrani from the Ministry of Information said: "The Ministry of Information’s stall contains 50 publications that explore the various aspects of the Sultanate of Oman. He said there is a large turnout of visitors at the Oman pavilion in general and at the Ministry of Information's stall in particular."
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