Moscow (VNA) – Vietnam this year participated for the first time as the guest of honour at the 21st St. Petersburg International Book Fair in Russia, held from May 21 to 24.
The event featured more than 260 exhibitions, 280 cultural and professional activities, and six exhibition pavilions. Vietnam was represented at the fair by the Vietnam Education Publishing House.
Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association Nguyen Quang Thieu delivered remarks at the opening ceremony alongside former Russian Prime Minister and President of the Russian Book Union Sergey Stepashin, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly Alexander Belsky, St. Petersburg Vice Governor Boris Piotrovsky, and other distinguished guests.
Russian Presidential Aide and First Secretary of the Russian Writers’ Union Vladimir Medinsky also attended the event and personally visited the Vietnam Education Publishing House’s exhibition stand.
Speaking to Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in Moscow, Thieu said Vietnam’s selection as the guest of honour for the first time reflects the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries and Russia’s high regard for Vietnamese culture.
In addition to showcasing the richness of Vietnamese culture and the enduring friendship between the two countries, Vietnam also brought a message of a nation entering a new era of dynamic development, supported by urgent and necessary cultural policies adopted by the Party and the State. He noted that culture serves as a bridge, helping Vietnam build new friendships and partnerships for future development.
The Vietnamese pavilion attracted a large number of visitors throughout the fair. Editor-in-Chief Pham Vinh Thai of the publishing house told VNA correspondents that one of the publisher’s key objectives is to introduce Vietnam’s reading culture, publishing quality, and the sector’s ability to meet modern demands, particularly in educational publishing.
Amid rapid advances in publishing technology and the gradual decline of printed books, the publishing house has actively expanded into digital publishing and invested in advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, for textbook development, supporting digital transformation and innovation in education.
The publisher has also produced a range of special publications, reference works and high-quality titles, including numerous books on President Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro, and prominent Vietnamese cultural figures, aimed at promoting Vietnamese culture internationally.
Alongside its participation in the fair, it launched a book donation programme for the Vietnamese community in Russia, with the aim of supporting the preservation of the Vietnamese language and cultural heritage among overseas Vietnamese.
Through the union of Vietnamese organisations in Russia and local community associations, donated books will be distributed to community bookshelves, libraries and cultural centres. Overseas Vietnamese will also have opportunities to participate in Vietnamese-language programmes jointly organised by the publisher, VTV4 and the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
First held in 2006, the international book fair is regarded as one of Russia’s largest literary events, with St. Petersburg having the highest reading rate in the country. Last year, more than 500,000 people attended activities organised as part of the fair./.
VNA
