The 41st Cairo International Book Fair starts on January 21 till February 5 with 765 publishers from 27 countries. Head of the Fair Dr. Nasser el- Ansari will hold a press conference on January 14 in the presence of the British Ambassador Dominique Squirt, the head of the British Council Paul Smith and Sherif Salem, the head of the General Fair Authority. He will announce the full details of the Fair. Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni said Britain will be the guest of honor this year, in which 22 publishers more than last year will participate.
Ansari said the publishing houses will exhibit in 12 pavilions their works in various fields, such as science and literature. He also said that there will be many cultural events and symposia, and that Britain will organize artistic events and round-table poetry sessions of British and Egyptian poets. Britain's participation is organized by the British Council, the London Book Fair and the Association of Independent Publishers. Dr. Wahid Abdel Meguid, Vice-President of the General Fair Authority, said the main themes of the cultural events will be ‘Egypt and Africa', ‘Jerusalem: A Cultural Capital' and ‘Cultural Creativity', in addition to a celebration of the golden jubilee of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.
