The slogan "A house without books is like a room without windows" of a pavilion at the 23rd Minsk International Book Fair can refer to any huge forum of this kind. Indeed, the exhibition facility at the BelEXPO Center with spectacular pavilions, halls, and rooms resembles a Gothic, illuminated house of peculiar design.  

The Pavilion of the Zvyazda State Publishing House, as part of the event, hosted a presentation of the Translation Centre on the theme "Azerbaijani-Belorussian Literary Relations".  The pavilion was full of people half an hour prior to the start of the presentation. Alexander Karlyukevich, the director of the publishing house, moderated the event.

The event was attended by officials from Azerbaijan's Embassy in Minsk, representatives of Azerbaijani Diaspora, famous poets and writers in Belarus, as well as guests from neighboring pavilions. After the opening ceremony, a video material on AzTC was demonstrated on a large monitor installed at the pavilion of the "Star" Publishing House. AZTC representatives answered questions fielded by participants to the event.  The literary and art composition prepared by Salatin Omarova, the director of the Centre of Azerbaijan Culture in Minsk, was met with a burst of applause. Ms. Omarova in Minsk makes every possible effort to improve and develop cultural and literary relations between the two countries. The participants amusedly listened to poems in Azerbaijani recited by Suzanna Aghayeva and Olesya Kosoykina. And it was with great interest that the participants listened to the speeches made by Natig Baghirov, Chairman of the Azerbaijani Communities Congress, a well-known sportsman, and notable Belarussian poet Tatiana Sivets. The latter also read fragments from her poem Baku.

We at AzTC would like to thank the organizers of this presentation, especially the noted Belarussian writer, Alexander Nikolayevich Karlyukevich.

Etimad Muradov,

February 10-14, 2016

Minsk-Baku

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