TEHRAN – Deputy Culture Minister for Cultural Affairs Mohsen Javadi said on Monday that over 60,000 book titles have been published in Iran over the past year.

Speaking during a press conference in Tehran, he added that there is a five-percent increase in the number compared with previous year’s figures. 

“The ministry has also purchased 400,000 books, out of which over 350,000 have been distributed across the country,” he added.

He also said that the ministry annually holds some seasonal book fairs across the country to help promote book reading.

He added that the 33rd Tehran International Book Fair will take place at Imam Khomeini Mosalla from April 14 to 24, 2020, and Turkey will be received as the guest of honor at the cultural event.

Javadi announced a culture ministry’s plan to merge the Iran Cultural Fairs Institute, Iranian Fiction and Poetry Foundation and the Khaneh Ketab Institute, and said that by the downsizing, the ministry intends to promote the private sector to play a key role in the national economy.

Photo: Deputy Culture Minister for Cultural Affairs Mohsen Javadi (C) speaks at the press conference in Tehran on December 30, 2019.

RM/MMS/YAW