The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) has been recognised with the ‘Exhibitor Excellence Award’ at the 24th edition of the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF). SBA was among 2,500 exhibiting publishers from 89 countries at the fair, and used this global platform to engage several publishing industry experts in the Emirati cultural and literary experience.

Key Chinese publishers became aware of Sharjah Publishing City, which will soon host 320 publishers and distributors after its inauguration in the final quarter of 2017. These publishers have shown keen interest in executing their Middle Eastern operations out of Sharjah, using the emirate and its robust infrastructure as a base to proliferate into regional and global markets.

While at BIBF, SBA organised a series of meetings with a host of Chinese and international publishing representatives, printing firms, and rights and translation agents from around the world, during which the SBA learned about their desire to further their reach into the UAE and Arab markets.

The SBA participating stand was visited by senior officials from various diplomatic and cultural foundations, including HE Mohammed Abdullah Al Shamsi, Charge d' Affaires of the UAE Embassy in China.

Salim Omar Salim, Director of Marketing and Sales at the SBA, said: “China is the cradle of the paper and print industry, and with a 1.4 billion population, also the largest book market in the world. The country is known for employing a vast cache of expertise to expand publishing operations into more and more countries. Translation plays a crucial role here with its ability to transcend language barriers and enable people from different cultures to enjoy and appreciate Chinese works in their native language.”

Salim emphasised that strong trade ties between the UAE and China, and between Sharjah and China in particular, influence a high degree of goodwill between the two, paving the way for fruitful future collaborations in publishing.

The SBA has extended an invitation to representatives of dozens of Chinese, and other Asian and international publishing houses, who were at BIBF to participate at the forthcoming edition of Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), which is due to run from 1-11 November this year.