The opening ceremony of the 6th Baku International Book Fair organized by the Ministry of Culture has been held at the Baku Expo Center, Report informs.
The book festival is dedicated to the 880th anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Nizami Ganjavi.
The opening ceremony was addressed by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov, Minister of Culture Anar Karimov, Minister of Education Emin Amrullayev, People's Writer Anar Rzayev and Minister of Tourism and Culture of Turkey Ahmet Demircan.
Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov congratulated the participants on the opening of the book fair, which has become a tradition in Azerbaijan.
"I think that these events are a direct indicator of our country's respect for books," he noted.
Minister of Culture Anar Karimov said that a book is an essential tool and testament invented by humanity.
It is a means of conveying to us the traditions of our ancestors. The country's leadership has always paid attention to the culture of books and reading. As a result, book fairs have been held in Azerbaijan for 14 years. The most important feature of this exhibition is that it is dedicated to the year of Nizami Ganjavi. It is also the largest book fair in the region. Forty-three foreign organizations, 99 local publishing houses, and book art enterprises are participating in the VII Baku International Book Fair. As many as 139 events in various formats will be organized during the fair. The fair includes puppet performances for children based on the works of Nizami Ganjavi, "Children's World", fairy tale hours, meetings with children's writers, master classes for children and adults, book presentations on inclusion and other topical issues, signing days, conferences, symposiums, book industry cooperation platforms and music programs will be organized.
Minister of Education Emin Amrullayev spoke about the importance of books and said that books are one of the main concepts at the center of education.
"Books are value and culture," he said.
The fair was attended by Azerbaijani people's writers and poets, well-known young writers, famous foreign writers, and actors.
Chingiz Abdullayev, Gulseren Bugdayicioglu, Elkhan Elatli, Sinan Yagmur, Togrul Mehti Niyazi, Ercan Kesal and other famous writers and celebrities are the "honorary guests".
There are significant discounts for all books to be sold at the fair.
The exhibition fair will run until October 10.