The opening conference of the 27th edition of the International Publishing and Book Fair took place the morning of May 3rd in the Rabat AL-Fath pavillon. The Director of the fair, Ms. Latifa Mouftaqir, initiated the conference by introducing the Senegalese Minister of communication and culture,

Mr. Abdoulaye Diop and the Moroccan Minister of youth, culture and communication Mr. Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid. Mr. Bensaid carried on by highlighting the Senegalese representation of the African union and the strong Moroccan-Senegalese friendship.

The Moroccan Minister explained that reading and books will make us better know our African culture and legacy. The Minister cherishes the efforts made to value books throughout this event and quoted the holy Quran by saying that we should never forget that the first word in this holy book is ‘read’!

He added that the ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication is working on strategies to build the reading interest in Moroccans from a very young age, which will be a very worthy investment.
The Senegalese Minister stated that in 1969, Senegal lacked a lot of resources but had a Ministry of communication and culture because of the importance of the latter.

Ms. Moftaqir hopes for future initiatives and alliances between African and Moroccan publishers to reinforce the bond between them, and the Moroccan Minister expects the success of this international event thanks to the efforts of all the participants.