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Day of Belarus at Moscow International Book Fair

Thursday was the Day of Belarus at the 23rd Moscow International Book Fair, which began in the Russian capital city on September 1, BelaPAN reports.

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the Day, the head of the official Belarusian delegation to the fair, Deputy Information Minister Liliya Ananich, thanked the organizers for choosing Belarus to be the guest of honor.

“Belarus is open to the world and has made a considerable contribution to humankind’s spiritual heritage,” Ms. Ananich said. “Francisak Skaryna, St. Euphrosyne of Polatsk, Simeon of Polatsk, Yanka Kupala, Yakub Kolas, Uladzimir Karatkevich and many other names have been written into history with gold letters.”

Vasil Dalhalyow, the Belarusian ambassador to Russia, read out a message of greetings from Alyaksandr Lukashenka. “In the field of book publishing, Belarus actively cooperates with many countries of the world, including those represented at this fair,” the message said. “The spiritual and cultural alliance of nations has always been a real basis for cooperation in all areas. I am convinced that the present forum will give a new impetus to the development of constructive cooperation between our countries.”

“Our countries have always lived by faith, spirituality and culture,” said Pavel Borodin, state secretary of the Belarusian-Russian Union State. “Today is a great day for our great Union State.”

The Belarusian pavilion at the fair features more than 40 publishing, printing and book-selling companies.

The Day of Belarus started with a report by Ms. Ananich, who said in particular that six books were printed per resident in the country in 2009.