As per the directions of Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Lebanese Publishing Houses participating in the Sharjah International Book Fair, SIBF 2020, has been exempted from the pavilion rental fees.
The decision and directives of His Highness comes in line with Sharjah’s continuous support to Lebanon’s libraries and publishing houses, in light of the explosion in the Port of Beirut.
The value of the exemptions amounts to AED 640,000, contributing in supporting the work of various Lebanon’s publishing houses.
Commenting on this, Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of Sharjah Book Authority, SBA, has lauded the grant of Sheikh Sultan, stressing that such gestures expand friendship and support several brotherly and friendly countries.
Al Ameri emphasised that the initiative reaffirms Sharjah’s leading position as an incubator of Arab culture and a creative hub that attracts intellectuals, adding that His Highness had previously ordered the exemption of Syrian and Egyptian publishers and other publishers whose countries were suffering exceptional circumstances and crises.
He concluded, “We hope that the initiative will help the Lebanese publishing market, especially as it comes a day after the announcement of the grant of the Ruler of Sharjah, amounting to AED 10 million, intended to support publishers, and to open the way for them to overcome the challenges that the spread of the COVID-19 has imposed on the publishing sector on the Arab and international scene.”
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