TEHRAN- Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, visited the 35th edition of the Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) on Monday morning.

Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili and several other cultural officials accompanied him during the visit, IRNA reported. 

The Leader had short conversations with representatives of publishers, who shared their concerns about the industry, the report added. 

They also presented him with information about their newest publications.  

The Tehran International Book Fair opened to the public on Wednesday.

Over 2,500 Iranian publishers as well as 60 foreign publishers take part in this edition of the book fair, which is underway in both physical and virtual formats, allowing each publisher to choose their preferred method of participation based on the fair's regulations. 

For physical book sales, publications from 2020 onwards are accepted, while for virtual sales, books published from 2014 onwards are eligible for inclusion in the fair.

Yemen is the special guest of this edition of the book fair. Initially, India was designated as the special guest of the book fair, but due to restrictions on Indian citizens traveling to Iran, the organizers made the decision to replace India with Yemen.

Being Iran’s major trade fair for books, the TIBF has been turned into a landmark, momentous book fair in West Asia after 34 editions in a row. Millions of visitors inspect the fair every year, including thousands of university students, scholars, and their families.

The cultural event currently serves as the most significant cultural event in Iran. The foreign publishers substantially offer their materials in English or Arabic however titles in French, German, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese are also available.

The 35th Tehran International Book Fair, with the slogan "Let's Read and Create," will continue until May 18 in the Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla.

SAB/