Malaysian Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid

Malaysian Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid on Wednesday called for closer cooperation between Saudi and Malaysian publishers to boost the printing of publications in both countries.

Malaysia was the guest-of-honor country at the Riyadh International Book Fair 2017.

Saudi and Malaysian publishers have an important role to play in the development of society by delivering quality publications, Khalid said.

He expressed happiness that he was visiting the Kingdom soon after the visit of King Salman to Kuala Lumpur, adding that the monarch’s visit is a reflection of strong and steady bilateral relations.

Khalid said his government is deeply honored that Malaysia was the guest-of-honor country at the book fair.

He added that the future of any country depends on its youth, and that reading will make them useful members of society.

The Malaysian pavilion at the book fair was represented by 20 publishers displaying more than 400 books, 60 percent of them children’s editions. There were 83 representatives from Malaysian publishing houses present.