TEHRAN – For the first time in three years, Iran is participating in the 77th Frankfurt Book Fair, which is being held in Frankfurt, Germany.
“Iran’s return is part of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s broader strategy to expand cultural diplomacy and strengthen international cooperation in publishing and literature,” said Ayub Deghankar, Advisor to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s Deputy Minister for Culture, Science, Culture and Management.
“One of the main policies of the Ministry of Culture is to support the development of cultural exports, especially books,” IRNA quoted Degankar as saying.
“Among cultural products, books have unique importance because exporting books through translation and publication by foreign publishers means sharing Iranian and Islamic thought and worldview with the world,” he added.
He also noted the successful launch of the Tehran Publishing Fellowship Program, explaining that one of its main objectives is to promote the cultural economy by facilitating the sale of publishing rights of Iranian books to international publishers.
“The first round of this fellowship was well received by foreign publishers, so Iran’s participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair aims to continue that effort and further those goals,” Deghankar said.
Alireza Nurizadeh, Secretary of the Tehran Publishing Fellowship Program, said that participation in the Frankfurt event is an important step towards the internationalization of Iran’s publishing industry.
“The Tehran Publishing Fellowship was established to build a cooperation platform between Iranian and foreign publishers, support the translation of Iranian works, and improve mutual access to cultural resources,” Nurizadeh said.
He added that this year’s participation is focused on expanding translation and co-publishing agreements, introducing active Iranian publishers, and fostering direct engagement with international publishing executives.
“The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world’s largest publishing event,” he emphasized. “Our presence at the fair will help expand the network of Iranian publishers and strengthen Iran’s cultural position in the world. We aim to elevate publishing from a domestic cultural activity to an effective tool for intercultural dialogue and public diplomacy.”
This year’s Frankfurt Book Fair opened on October 15th and will run until October 19th at Messe Frankfurt.
SS/SAB