With the slogan “Let’s Read and Create,” the latest edition of the fair is underway in the Iranian capital. 

Iran’s major book trade fair, which kicked off on May 8 in Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla, will run for 10 days. 

The book fair comprises various sections including children and young adults, general publishers, educational publishers, academic publishers, foreign publishers, digital publishers, and the international section. 

The cultural event currently serves as the most significant cultural event in Iran. On average 2,500 domestic and 600 foreign publishers participate in the landmark event.

The foreign publishers substantially offer their materials in English or Arabic however titles in French, German, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese are also available.

As the main commercial book fair in Iran, TIBF has become a prominent and important book fair in West Asia after 34 consecutive editions. 

The fair attracts millions of visitors every year, including thousands of university students, scholars, and their families.

Head of this year’s fair Yaser Ahmadvand emphasized the cultural ties between Iran and Yemen, expressing optimism about the potential for mutual benefit. 

Ahmadvand considered the special guest as a tradition that enhances cultural exchange. 

He stressed the long-standing cultural ties between Iran and Yemen, calling for the potential for collaboration and mutual growth between the two nations.

Commenting on Yemen as the special guest of the event, Mohammad Mehdi Rahmati, managing director of Mehr Media Group said “No doubt that the publishing activities in Yemen, which has been facing war and under blockade for about 10 years, has squeezed considerably.” 

He added that the challenges of war and foreign economic pressures have caused damage to the Yemeni society and people. 

“However, they have not left publishing aside. I believe the presence of Yemen in the Tehran International Book Fair is great news. Yemeni writers and publishers prove that books are important to them by attending the Tehran book fair.” 

Yemen’s deputy culture minister has lauded his country’s good relations with Iran, saying the bilateral ties will be strengthened in the future.

“We have good social relations with Iran, and these relations will be strengthened in the future,” Muhammad Haidareh told reporters on the sidelines of the 35th Tehran International Book Fair on Thursday.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is like a father to us and we are fighting alongside the Iranians to preserve Islam and Palestine and for the liberation of the Holy Quds.”

Haidareh argued that according to the teachings of the Quran, “We should hate America and Israel and fight them.”

He added the relations between Iran and Yemen have deepened because the two countries face common enemies, namely the US and the Israeli regime.

The director of the Yemeni pavilion at the TIBF said that the establishment of strong cultural and scientific relations between Iran and Yemen is one of the goals of his country at the event.

Abdorrahman Rajeh added, “We presented at the Yemen booth works on the topics of the history of the Yemeni land, the culture of the people, and the tourist attractions.”

“Our main goal in attending the Book Fair was to introduce Yemeni culture. That’s why we presented historical, ancient, tourism, and cultural monuments to the audience at our booth, and of course, we carried the message of the friendship of the Yemeni people to the Iranian audience in the cultural, political, and social spheres.”

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Iran Abdullah bin Saud Al-Enezi made the remarks during a meeting with Ahmadvand, on Thursday, noting cultural interaction is one of the best opportunities to improve bilateral relations between Riyadh and Tehran.

Many Saudi publishers were eager to participate in this exhibition, but there was not enough time to coordinate their attendance at the exhibition, Al-Enezi said.

Activities like holding book fairs can further strengthen the relations between the two countries, the Saudi ambassador added.

For his part, Ahmadvand said books have the potential to boost communication between the two nations, and the works of prominent Iranian authors can be further introduced to the Saudi youths.

“We would like for our neighbors and regional countries to benefit from the book fair,” he said, expressing hope that Iran will also participate in Riyadh’s book fair in the future.

Recai Duman, Director of Diyanet Publications in Turkey says that books play an important role in cultural diplomacy and Tehran Book Fair is a good opportunity to cooperate with Iranian publishers.

Meanwhile, Elena Pavlova, the head of the Russian Book Union said in an interview that “Books can bring different nations together. Every nation and culture has its interests, but everyone has a common opinion on reading books and they read books.

The previous edition of the TIBF was held with the slogan “The future is to be read”. 

At least 7 million people visited the book fair and over 3.7 million books were sold at the event.

Reported by Tohid Mahmoudpour