Indonesian Ambassador Ridwan Hassan
Doha: The Indonesian Embassy will take part for the very first time in the 31st Doha International Book Fair, which will run from January 13 to 22 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre in West Bay.
Indonesian Ambassador H E Ridwan Hassan said: “Books and literature play a significant role in our diplomatic relations, especially when it comes to people-to-people contact. So we are enthusiastic to be a part of this event.”
Moreover, he added that “books can be windows for both parties to see and understand how deep, rich and diverse our relationship is,” referring to strong bond between his country and the Middle East countries. Numerous manuscripts and books from the Indonesia that have not yet been explored by Middle Eastern readers and published will be featured during the exhibition.
To introduce Indonesia’s literary treasures, the Embassy invited over a dozen publishers and sent hundreds of titles on multiple topics, ranging from literature, religion, politics, and children books, fiction and nonfiction books to novels.
Ambassador Hassan disclosed that the book fair is a prelude before the launching of Qatar-Indonesia Year of Culture next year that will bring cultural cooperation between Indonesia and Qatar to a higher level.
“We are very excited to be the partner country of the 2023 Year of Culture. Our participation in this book fair would be a perfect warming up before Qatar-Indonesia Year of Culture to be kicked-off in 2023,” he explained.
Qatar Museums runs this cultural exchange programme aimed to convey Qatar to an international audience.
Through a variety of exhibitions, festivals, competitions and events, the programmes promote mutual understanding, recognition and appreciation between countries. Thirty-seven countries will participate in this year’s book fair and a total of 430 publishers and 90 agencies.
It carries the theme “Knowledge is Light,” which reflects on the Islamic tradition, emphasising learning all the way from the beginning of creation to God's command to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to read and making people into tribes and communities so that they may interact and learn from one another.
The fair will open from 9am and will continue till 10pm throughout the week, and on Friday, from 3pm to 10pm.
