Sharjah honors former Egyptian culture minister

CAIRO – 4 November 2017: The opening ceremony of the Sharjah International Book Fair honored former Egyptian Culture Minister Mohamed Saber who was chosen as Cultural Person of the Year for his efforts in strengthening culture ties between Egypt and other countries.

Approximately 1,691 publishing houses are participating in the 36th edition of International Sharjah Book Fair that kicked off on Wednesday. Together these publishing houses produce over 1.5 million books from 60 countries.

UAE’s Sharjah is on its way to becoming a hub for culture and Islamic heritage, according to Ahmed El Amary, head of El Sharjah Authority for Books who inaugurated the book fair.

The city is also aspiring to the label of World Capital for Books in 2019. This edition is expected to run until November 11, according to a statement by state agency Egynews.

The book fair is hosting over 400 public figures from renowned novelists and owners such as Algerian novelist Wasiny El A’arag, Saudi Abdel Khal, Kuwaiti Soud El Sonou’sy, Iraqi novelist Sanan Antoine, and Syrian actor Ghasan Masoud.

UK is the guest of honor in this edition, which comes parallel to celebrating UAE-British ties through ceremonies conducted by the Supreme Council for British Culture.