Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and emir of Makkah province, accompanies Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Hamad Al-Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, at the inauguration of the 34th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair, Wednesday. — SPA

Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and emir of Makkah province, was presented the Cultural Personality of the Year award during the inauguration of the 34th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair on Wednesday, Saudi Press Agency said.

Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Hamad Al-Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and Prince Khaled jointly inaugurated fair.

Prince Khaled was honored in recognition of his cultural, charitable and humanitarian contributions, and his constant pursuit of promoting the values of tolerance and moderation by encouraging intercultural dialogue and interaction.

Prince Khaled urged Arab leaders to “extinguish the fire of sedition” and praised the exemplary role being played by the UAE.

Addressing the ceremony, Dr. Sheikh Sultan praised Prince Khaled, who is also known as the Poet Prince, for his great contribution to furthering cultural, artistic and educational understanding. “This SIBF has been graced by big names in the literary world, specially by Prince Khaled Al Faisal.”

He also praised Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al-Qasimi, founder and CEO of Kalimat Group, and honorary president of the Emirates Publishers Association, for successfully hosting the two-day 3rd Arab Publishers Association Conference (APAC) which concluded on Tuesday.

He added, “Today, books are the light of beacon against ignorance, leading us to faith and certainty. But there are also some distractions. Thus, we cannot reject all the books or accept all the books. That is why we set up the Sharjah Books Authority to check the contents before releasing the books and to pursue the publishers if any changes need to be made or mistakes should be corrected.”

He said that a series of seminars will be conducted for the next 10 days, parallel to the book fair, where Arab intellectuals who have accepted the invitation will deliberate on various issues.

Related articles across the web

• Azerbaijani president expresses condolences to King of Saudi Arabia
• Saudis launch crane collapse investigation
• Bin Laden Group sanctioned over deadly crane crash
• Mecca stampede kills at least 450, injures hundreds more
• GCC Environment Forum - GEF 2016
• Yemeni Pilgrims Reached Makkah to Extensive Efforts
• Imam of Al Aqsa Mosque Condoles Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Arab and Islamic nations on Victims of Crane Fall in Grand Holy Mosque
• UN calls for protection of Jerusalem mosque site
• At least 220 die in deadliest haj stampede since 2006
• UN calls for protection of Jerusalem mosque site