Irbil International Book Fair kicks off Tues.

IRBIL, April 5 (KUNA) -- The 11th Irbil International Book Fair kicked off on Tuesday, under the auspices of Al-Mada Foundation for Media, Culture and Arts, and in cooperation with the Kurdistan Regional Government.
The event was inaugurated by the Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, with the participation of some consuls and political figures of Iraq, and Arab and foreign countries.
Kuwait's Consul General in Irbil Dr. Omar Al-Kandari told KUNA that inaugurating such fairs stresses keenness of the region's government on spreading culture, tolerance, and combating extremism and terrorism.
He added that such cultural events seek to achieve closeness between nations and promote their relations in many fields.
Meanwhile, Fakhri Karim, head of the foundation, said about 200 publishing houses from Arab and foreign countries are taking part in the fair which includes about 700,000 books.
The 10-day event is held for the 11th year in a row, he said, indicating that books are sold at affordable prices due to the region's economic situation.
He noted that the fair presents books on religion, science, philosophy, history, geography, literature and others. (end) sbr.hm