Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Culture, Youth, and Communication Mehdi Bensaid announced on February 24 that the International Book and Print Fair (SIEL), will be held in Rabat starting on June 2, 2022.
The SIEL, which is traditionally held in Casablanca, will take place in Rabat since its original space in Casablanca is now operating as a hospital to accommodate COVID-19 patients, said the minister at a press briefing.
Initially, both Rabat and El Jadida were candidates to host the SIEL. The decision to host the event in Rabat came after the city was chosen by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organized (ISESCO) as the Islamic world’s cultural capital for 2022.
Minister bensaid stressed that SIEL will return to its ordinary place once the Ministry of Health has ceded the places arranged to treat COVID-19 patients.
Calls for tenders to accompany the international book fair will be launched in the coming days, Bensaid noted, while welcoming the support of the Council of the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra region for the cultural event with an international scope.
Details about the program have yet to be revealed.
The 2021 SIEL fair was suspended due to the ongoing pandemic.
Morocco’s 2020 international book fair featured 703 exhibitors, and exhibits from all over the world featured more than 100,000 works.
The 2020 SIEL also offered visitors the opportunity to attend seminars, poetic evenings, and presentations of published books. The cultural exhibition saw the attendance of nearly half a million people, both local and international, including 15 foreign diplomatic delegations.
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