Under the auspices of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Riyadh International Book-fair will be opened in Riyadh on March 4. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Minister of Culture and Information Iyad bin Amin Madani valued the King's patronage of this great cultural manifestation and his interest in culture and book. He said that the Monarch's patronage demonstrates the continual keenness of the leadership on all aspects of progress in the Kingdom including the cultural movement. The Minister of Culture and Information noted that the ten-day fair will receive 550 publishing houses from 32 countries to present about 200,000 titles, indicating that 90 publishing houses to participate in the fair are from Saudi Arabia. Minister Madani pointed out that the Book-fair assigned Japan as a guest of honor for this year and assigned a pavilion for it. He added that the fair will host Arab, literary and cultural figures to display their experience.
