Imam Khamenei Visits International Book Fair in Tehran [Photos]

By Staff, Khamenei.ir

Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei paid a visit to the Tehran International Book Fair [TIBF] on Sunday.

During the visit, which took place with the end of the coronavirus restrictions and after three years, Imam Khamenei spoke with publishers and gained information about the latest updates about publishing.

The Tehran International Book Fair was held for the first time in 1987 during the term of Imam Khamenei’s presidency. He has visited this event most years since then, Khamenei.ir reported.

The 34th edition of the TIBF opened in Tehran on May 10 with publishers from Iran and 40 foreign countries in attendance.

On the sidelines of his visit, His Eminence said “I am wholeheartedly pleased with the few hours I spent at the book fair.”

In an interview with an IRIB journalist, Imam Khamenei expressed his immense satisfaction with this visit. He described the Book Fair as a great popular gathering with a dominant cultural aspect. “Praise God, signs of good news, efforts and youthful motives are being observed at the Book Fair,” he said.

Imam Khamenei added that, "the people’s reception of the Book Fair has been very good, based on the statistics presented above and the number of books that have been purchased."

Imam Khamenei stated that the issue of book publishing in the country is making progress despite some unfavorable conditions. "The main unfavorable areas in the field of publishing are related to the high costs of paper and in some cases, poor paper quality. Of course, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance gave some good news about preparations being made for the production of high-quality paper, which we hope will break the high prices of books."

His Eminence underlined that publishing is an important part of the subject of reading books in the country and matters relating to it should be smooth, good, and comprehensive.

Imam Khamenei considered books as an important subject emphasizing that the creation of social norms always requires books and that despite the expansion of social medial, books still hold a very lofty and important place.

He considered reading a requirement in order to produce good artistic works and media productions. "I always advise people, especially the youth, to read books. However, today I would like to place special emphasis on the necessity of reading and studying books by media programmers and those who are active in the field of arts, performing arts and the news agencies."

Imam Khamenei referred to the high share of books authored by Iranian authors in the country and pointed out to the issue of translating these books into foreign languages. "The translation of books that are written inside the country should be given serious attention. Of course, translators who are completely competent should be used to translate these books."

In another part of this interview, Imam Khamenei highlighted the importance of publishing books for children and teenagers. "We should try as much as possible to produce books for children and teenagers in accordance with our own culture, in order to eliminate the need for foreign books," he said.

Imam Khamenei also pointed out his interest in reading various books, especially the memoirs related to the era of the Sacred Defense and the martyrs who defended the Holy Shrines. "These memoirs are very valuable and are considered as a new type of book production. Our female authors are very active in this field and they write very well."