International book fair begins in Morocco's Casablanca

Rabat  :  The 24th Casablanca International Book Fair has kicked off in Morocco, bringing together 709 exhibitors from the Kingdom and around the world.

Inaugurated by Morocco's Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan on Thursday, the book fair features 125,000 books and is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Egypt, as the guest of honour at the book fair, will showcase the literature legacy of Egyptian writer Jamal El Ghitani to illustrate the Morocco-Egypt cultural relations.

El Ghitani, who died at the age of 70 in 2015, is considered to be one of Egypt's most acclaimed novelists.

This year's fair, which will run until February 18, includes daily thematic conferences, poetic evenings and signatures of books, as well as the awarding of the Ibn Batouta Prize for travel literature.