ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - President Masoud Barzani, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader and former President of the Kurdistan Region, on Wednesday opened the 17th edition of the Erbil International Book Fair under the theme “The World Speaks Kurdish.”

More than 350 publishing houses and printing centers from 22 countries are taking part in the 10-day fair, which was organized by the Al-Mada Foundation for Culture and Arts.

Following the opening of the fair, President Barzani hailed the Kurdistan Region as a hub for co-existence.

“We reiterate our commitment to advocating for preserving the co-existing culture that we are proud of,” President Barzani said. “The culture of co-existence, tolerance, free speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of sects are values that we will in no way compromise on.”

Barzani commended the organization of the Erbil International Book Fair, reciting a poem from Abbasid poet al-Mutanabbi on the importance of books in life.

The fair, which will wrap up its activities on April 19, "aims to reinstate the value of culture as a movement for raising awareness and development, emphasizing the function of fair books, to change the fair book into an event through which cultural authorities restore their role and impact through publications or activities that facilitate the easy movement of books in diverse directions.”