PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak Thursday opened the 42nd Cairo International Book Fair, with 800 publishers from 31 Arab and foreign countries participating. “The Cairo Book Fair has become the most popular cultural event in the Middle East," Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni said. “President Mubarak's opening of the event adds to its value.” Hosni added that the Cairo Book Fair was far more than just a market for books. "It has become a cultural gala in which a number of forums and seminars are held," Hosni stated at the inauguration of the event, which runs until February 13. The fair, held on the International Fairgrounds in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City, is attended by 16 Arab countries and 15 foreign countries, including Russia, which is this year's guest of honour. Kazakhstan, Denmark and Poland are taking part in the event for the first time. "Russia has been chosen as the guest of honour of the fair, because this year marks the 50th anniversary of Russia's assistance in building Egypt's High Dam," said Mohamed Saber Arab, the head of the Egyptian General Book Organisation, which organises the event. Mubarak, who did part of his higher education in Moscow in Russian, toured the Russian pavilion at the fair. Russia will organise a photographic exhibition marking the building of the High Dam and making a special display of books and documents on the Suez Canal, as the most important waterway in the world. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and other ministers, as well as the Russian Minister of Information and Communications, attended the opening ceremony. The Cairo Fair is one of the biggest in the book industry in the world, drawing hundreds of book sellers from around the world and about two million visitors each year. It is the largest book fair in the Arab world, as well as the oldest. In 2006 it was the second largest after the Frankfurt Book Fair. The fair was founded in 1969 to coincide with celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of the city of Cairo.
