Hamdan lauded the great attention given by King Abdullah to the conference of the Arab publishers, noting that opening of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) as well as King Abdullah Prize for Translation provide a clear evidence for the attention given by the King to the Arab publishers conference. He noted that organization of the conference aims at reviewing the situation of the Arab publication as well as the situation of the cultural development in the Arab world. Al-Hamdan said the organization of the conference is a serious attempt to close the Arab ranks from the cultural and intellectual side. Al-Hamdan pointed out that there is a state of lack of confidence between the reader and the writer in the Arab world. It is wrong to say that the digital book has an adverse impact on the paper book and readers, on the contrary the digital book is a support to the paper book, he said. Al-Hamdan pointed out that about half of the production of books in the Arab world is marketed in the Kingdom, adding that reading is the first step for building civilizations on scientific bases. --more
