Rabat: Bab Rouah pavilion hosted April 7, 2025 apress conference for the 30th session of the International Publishing and Book Fair which will take place in Rabat from April 17 to 27 under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
Mr.Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, the Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, welcomined the Emirate of Sharjah as the guest of honor and the celebration of Moroccans living abroad, in partnership with the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), saying it is ” an opportunity for exchange regarding culture and the book industry. It also explores the creativity of Moroccan writers worldwide and their ties to their homeland. He then spoke about the initiative by the ministry, in coordination with the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) to translate the books of Moroccans living abroad into Arabic in order to “introduce them to the Moroccan public”.
For his part, Mr. Driss El Yazami, the President of of the CCME, praised the celebration of the Moroccans of the world in this edition of the International Publishing and Book Fair, which comes in the context of two royal speeches that underlined the importance of the Moroccan diaspora and the fundamental role it plays in development projects. He also gave an overview of the Council’s participation in this session through a joint pavilion with the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication.
This year’s program includes more than 70 activities with the participation of 170 creators from 15 countries, aimed at exchange, discussion, and celebration of novels, poetry, social sciences, cinema, photography, and visual arts, as well as organizing cultural activities outside the pavilion, such as a poetry evening, screenings of migration-themed films, art exhibitions, special press releases, and discussions between Moroccan authors of the world and their counterparts from other countries.
The President of the CCME added that this year’s program focuses on women’s writing in the diaspora, given the emergence of a new generation of Moroccan women writers abroad who write in global languages. Additionally, there will be a series of tributes to Moroccan figures who have contributed to the global cultural scene, such as Edmond Amran El Maleh and Driss Chraïbi, whose 70th anniversary of his first novel, “Les Boucs,” will be celebrated, along with cultural figures like playwright and museum designer Ahmed Ghazali, Moroccan-Belgian journalist Lalla Khiti Benhachem, and academic Abdellah Bounfour. He also noted that the spotlight will be on works by Moroccan writers in Belgium, published with the support of the Council, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the labor agreement between Morocco and Belgium.
The press conference for the International Publishing and Book Fair featured numerical data about this session, which includes more than 300 direct exhibitors and displays over 100,000 titles. According to the fair’s representative, Latifa Moftaqir, celebrating Moroccans of the world is a cultural contribution to implementing royal directives to place Moroccans of the world at the forefront, recognizing their creativity in their countries of residence and enhancing their contributions to their homeland.
The press conference also included a remote speech by the CEO of the Sharjah Book Authority, who commended the selection of Sharjah as the guest of honor for this session and highlighted the depth of the relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Morocco. Additionally, speeches were delivered by the President of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Region, Rachid El Abdi, and the President of the Rabat Municipal Council, Fatiha El Moudni, both partners in this session.
Related to the 30th session of the International Publishing and Book Fair: The CCME applauds Minister Mehdi Bensaid’s will to translate literary works of Moroccans living abroad
