Sheikh Sultan Reinforces Lifelong Support for Libraries and Publishers at SIBF 2025

Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi continues his tradition of supporting Sharjah’s libraries and publishers with a generous annual donation at SIBF 2025.

on Nov 12, 2025

Sheikh Sultan Reinforces Lifelong Support for Libraries and Publishers at SIBF 2025

‘A Continuation of his Highness’ Lifelong Support’

Among the most faithful and illuminating things that Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi of Sharjah can be expected to do each year during the trade show he founded is to make an substantial annual donation to his emirate’s libraries—an event designed to support publishers, as well.

A prolific and accomplished author himself, Sheikh Sultan is personally making good on the promise of book fairs and trade shows in the Middle East, where these massive gatherings are usually the biggest-selling events for publishers, far outdoing the bookstore-and-distribution scene in many Arab world countries.

With this gesture every year, he reminds all who come of the deep levels of generosity he accepts as core to the decades-long focus he has placed on his concept of “the emirate that reads.”

"Libraries are living archives of human thought and bridges that connect cultures and civilizations," Bodour Al Qasami says.

"This generous grant is a continuation of His Highness' lifelong support for the publishing sector, enabling publishers to continue their work and foster the cultural and creative landscape in the region and beyond."

Running under the slogan Between You and a Book, the 44th edition of SIBF continues as one of the largest fairs in its category in the world, with 2,350 publishers from 118 countries taking part, including 1,224 Arab and 1,126 international publishing houses. It also hosts more than 250 writers, artists, and thinkers from 66 nations presenting at least 1,200 cultural, intellectual, and artistic events.