By Manal Abdel Fattah
Ambassador Hilde Klemitsdal, Norwegian Ambassador to Cairo, expressed her sincere gratitude for Norway’s invitation as a guest of honor at the 55th Cairo International Book Fair, during a joint press conference held with Dr. Nevin Al-Kilani, Minister of Culture, to announce the Norwegian program.
Being one of the largest book fairs in the world, Ambassador Klemetsdal stressed that the Cairo International Book Fair represents a great opportunity to showcase a wide range of Norwegian literature, art and culture to a larger Arab audience and market.
Ambassador Klemetsdal announced, during the press conference, that Her Royal Highness, wife of the Crown Prince, Princess Mette-Marit, will open the Norwegian programme, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Ede will also participate in the opening of the exhibition. This high-level participation is a testimony to the importance that Norway attaches to the Cairo International Book Fair. And for bilateral relations between Norway and Egypt.
She added that the book fair is a great opportunity for Egypt and the Arab world to learn about the works of Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian writer Jón Fosse, which have been translated into Arabic. Continued: Jón Fosse is a prominent figure in contemporary literature and one of the most widely performed playwrights in the world today.
She added that the Norwegian program was designed to reflect the breadth of Norwegian literature, as it presents many international Norwegian authors who will interact with their Egyptian readers and give impressions of Norway to enhance communication between the two countries under the slogan “The Dream We Hold.”
The Norwegian program extends over 13 days, the first part of which is designed by the main exhibitor, the Norwegian Literary Authority Abroad “Norla”, while the second part focuses on children’s and young people’s literature, sponsored by the Norwegian Children’s Book Institute.
