Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Riyadh International Book Fair was launched on Wednesday, 13 March 2019, under the theme “The Book is the Gate of the Future”, with the participation of more than 913 publishing houses and institutions from 30 Arab and foreign countries, and the Kingdom of Bahrain as the guest of honor. The GCC participated with a pavilion that includes the GCC latest publications highlighting the achievements of the GCC joint work.  By participating under the direct guidance of the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, to participate in all the Gulf Book Fairs, the GCC was keen to introduce new platforms to communicate with people, and highlight the progress and achievements made in result of the GCC joint work, and reflect the civilized face of the GCC countries.
The fair was inaugurated by, HE Mr. Hamid Mohammad Fayez, the Deputy Minister of Culture of Saudi Arabia, in the presence of HE Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, president of The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities; they toured the pavilions including the pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain as the guest of honor of the current session, in addition to honoring the pioneers of Saudi filmmakers, as well as the winning authors of the book award.
During the lecture given by the Bahraini writer Ms. Sawsan Al Shaer, the GCC presented HE Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, president of The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, and Mr. Abdullah bin Hassan Al-Kanani, General Supervisor of the libraries at the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information with a memorial plaque, as well as an information package containing the latest GCC publications.
The GCC pavilion was visited by many officials and those interested in cultural affairs in the GCC countries, and provided them with information and answered their questions and queries.
It is worth mentioning that the Riyadh International Book Fair receives visitors starting on Thursday from 10 am to 10 pm, for ten days. During which they will honor Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, may God have mercy on him, by celebrating him and holding seminars that discuss his biography and his writings, this came based on a decision by the ministers of information in the Arab countries. The Kingdom of Bahrain will be the guest of honor this year and will participate with 13 different events.
The number of participants by country is 30 Arab and foreign countries, distributed as follow: Arab countries 62%, Saudi Arabia 33% and foreign 5%, the number of authors was 267, including 133 males and 134 females. More than 200 events will be held on the margins of the Riyadh International Book Fair, of which 62 will be seminars and lectures, and 13 will be held within the cultural council programs. In addition to 4 plays, 8 corners for children and 18 short films that are shown for one hour a day of Saudi short films.