During his visit to the fair on Wednesday, Al-Sheikh praised the organizers for making the event a great experience for visitors.
“There was coordination with the Ministry of Culture and Information on everything regarding the book fair and its visitors to guard against religious infringements.”
Al-Sheikh thanked Allah and asked Him to protect Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Naif. He thanked the king and crown prince for their role in the successful event. He considered the exhibition a blessing from Allah to provide society with knowledge. He added the commission performed its duty perfectly because of Allah’s blessings and the efforts of his colleagues.
He expressed gratitude to the Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja for his efforts in holding the event and his cooperation with the commission.
“Whenever we asked the Minister of Culture and Information for anything on behalf of the commission or any other parties, he quickly responded and did not refuse any demands.”
He said ministry officials were just as cooperative and this contributed to the success of the exhibition.
Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdullah Al-Jasser confirmed his ministry cooperated with all authorities to ensure the success of the book fair and was happy to cooperate with the commission in future cultural or social events.
Culture and Information Ministry Undersecretary Nasser Al-Hujailan, who is also general supervisor of the exhibition, said there were almost 1.25 million visitors at the fair buying almost SR6.7 million worth of books as of Wednesday evening.
Director of the exhibition Dr. Saleh Al-Ghamdi said: “The book fair this year has attracted a huge attendance despite a boycott campaign.”
He added the cultural program accompanying the exhibition this year has seen a great variety of cultural subjects addressed through seminars, workshops, lectures and a cultural café program.
Al-Hujailan said that the visitor and sales statistics were approximate. He said next year a system would be implemented to provide more accurate figures of the bestselling books and publishers.
Al=Ghamdi revealed some publishers had inflated the prices of their books and there were complaints about them that will considered by the fair’s management later.
Al-Ghamdi said the fair’s management received many congratulations and the event represented culture in Saudi Arabia well.
“The success was due to us providing an atmosphere enabling men and women and families and children to have a good time without any trouble.”
Al-Ghamdi thanked all those involved in the organization of the fair, giving a special mention to security forces for providing a comprehensively safe environment.
