MINSK, 6 February (BelTA) – The International Symposium Writer and Time is aimed at strengthening peace-loving and good-neighborly relations, Belarus' Information Minister Alexander Karlyukevich said as he opened the 5th symposium on the sidelines of the Minsk International Book Fair, BelTA has learned.
For the fifth time, Minsk has brought together writers from different countries: Belarus, Russia, Azerbaijan, the UK, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, the USA, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and France.
Russia is represented by writers from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other regions, by members of the Writers' Union of Russia headed by Nikolai Ivanov. "We are grateful to Russia for such a great representation. Russia is the central exhibitor, and that is very important for us. Our symposium has its roots in the roundtables held on the Belarusian Written Language Day in September every year since 2007. When we were launching the symposium in 2015, we hoped that it would become a platform for peaceful good-neighborly relations in the humanitarian sphere, in culture, literature, and art,” Alexander Karlyukevich noted.
According to his words, the roundtable and the symposium bring together translators from different countries which widely promotes Belarusian literature. Thus, we are moving away from disconnection towards unity and consolidation. The artistic word will help us in these good intentions, the minister added.
The 26th Minsk International Book Fair is underway under the slogan "More Than Books" at 14 Pobediteley Avenue from 6 to 10 February. The expo is about 3,000 square meters big and features more than 400 exhibitors from 37 countries. Some 60,000 people are expected to visit the fair. The organizers of the Minsk International Book Fair are the Information Ministry, the Minsk City Hall and the Belarusian Union of Writers. Co-organizers are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Education Ministry, the Culture Ministry, Belkniga and Makbel book selling companies.
