Development, Progress in Society Depends on Book Reading, Minister Zuhair:

Ministry of Information and Culture commemorated the World Book Day here yesterday, appreciating the cultural institutions and a number of young writers, Bakhtar News Agency said.

In a ceremony held on the occasion with the presence of a number of cultural figures and officials of cultural institutions, Mohammad Tahir Zuhair, acting minister of Information and Culture said that development and progress in society depends on books and book reading.

During the ceremony, four young people who have just entered the field of book writing and thought production were honored with plaque to highlight their cultural works.

The minister gave information about the situation of books and book reading in the country in compare with other countries and considered the culture of reading in the country very low and emphasized that the young people who are just emerging in the field of culture and writing books should be encouraged and appreciated. Mohammad Tahir Zuhair said that the Ministry of Information and Culture fully supports the publication and distribution of books and the production of thoughts in the country. Abdul Manan Shiway Sharq, Deputy Minister of Publications of the Ministry of Information and Culture, also spoke about the importance of books and book reading, adding that Somayeh Ramesh, Saeed Shinwari, Raihana Raha and Dastgir Farhoud were the young writers being appreciated by the ministry. Afterwards, the authors praised the Ministry of Information and Culture for its attention to the growth and development of culture in the country, and provided information on the role of reading in the development of society.

Also at the end of the ceremony, Ahmad Zaki Amiri, the head of copyright of the Ministry of Information and Culture, handed over 600 volumes of books to the director of public libraries.

Kabul (BNA)