Dr. Salim M. AlMalik, Director-General (DG) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), stated that the International Book and Publishing Fair in Rabat, which opened as part of the Celebration of Rabat as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, is a unique festival of cultural, intellectual and civilizational exchange, which embodies the spirit of renewal and reflects the significance of books in nurturing thought and knowledge.

Dr. AlMalik made this statement in an address he gave during the ceremony that the Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication organized on the occasion of the Fair opening, in the presence of the Moroccan Minister of Culture, Mr. Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid; Mr. Rachid El-Abdi, President of the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra Region, in addition to a large number of authors, officials and members of the diplomatic corps in Rabat.

“We are an Ummah that celebrates reading and writing, an Ummah that has created the largest multidisciplinary library a thousand years ago”, the ICESCO DG stated, noting that this Fair promotes the outreach of Rabat as the Capital of Lights and highlights the strong links of our civilizational legacy to books”.

He added that through its participation in this major international event, ICESCO reaffirms the importance it accords to promoting the values of reading in its activities and programs, in a bid to rekindle ties of the Islamic world to its glorious history which paved the way for such activities.

At the close of his address, Dr. AlMalik expressed his thanks to the Moroccan Minister of Culture, the Fair organizers, publishers, intellects and authors.