Culture minister to attend Qatari Book Fair

Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini will leave for Doha tonight to attend the inaugural ceremony of the Qatari International Book Fair salted to open tomorrow, said director general of the ministry’ Public Relations Department. Talking to IRNA, Mohammad Ali Monfared added that Hosseini will confer with Qatari officials including his counterpart during his two-day stay in Doha. Some 1,300 titles of valuable books will go on display by 60 Iranian publishers in an area of 192 square meters, he said, noting that artistic and cultural activities such as illumination, calligraphy and painting will be displayed in the Iranian pavilion. This the first time that Iran attends as the special guest at 22nd round of the event, which will open on December 12 and will continue for ten days, Monfared said. Among the Iranian publishers to take part in the book fair are Center for Intellectual, Cultural and Islamic Researches, Majlis Library, Artists House, Foreign Ministry’s Consultations Center, Center for Iran’s Islamic Revolution Documents, Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults and Center for Proximity among Religions, he said. Iran has strategic ties with Qatar and shares numerous commonalities with the Arab state, the official noted.