Embassy of India to Mexico :High Commission of India to Belize

33rd Guadalajara International Bool Fair (FIL),2019

India: Guest of Honour at the International Book Fair, Guadalajara 2019

India will be the Guest of Honour Country at the largest book fair of the Spanish-speaking world, Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), Mexico, in its 2019 edition to be held in the November-December of the year. Formally accepting the invitation at the Curtain Raiser event of the 2018 edition organized at FIL, Shri Muktesh Pardeshi, Ambassador of India to Mexico, said that after presenting India as the Guest country at the Cervantino Festival in October 2018, “India would be returning to the Expo Guadalajara next year with best of its literary heritage, scholarship and culture.” Quoting Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “Let our lives be open books for all to study”, which incidentally have been used as a slogan for the presentation by India, Shri Pardeshi added, “India’s special participation next year will be executed by the National Book Trust, India (Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India) which has been organizing New Delhi World Book Fair, the biggest fair in Afro-Asian region since 1972.

Guadalajara 2019 Today, India is the sixth largest book publishing country in the world and ranks second, behind the USA, as an English book publishing country. With 22 Official Languages, India is a multi-lingual country, but the majority of publishing happens in English. The Indian publishing Industry has grown and according to a recent market survey, it was estimated at US$ 6.7 billion in 2017. Book exports amount to USD 1 billion.” Shri Pardeshi also mentioned that one of the focus areas of the next year´s presentation will India to be the Guest of Honour at FIL 2019 be exhibitions on Mahatma Gandhi to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary. At the glittering Hand-Over Ceremony, held on 2nd December 2018 at the FIL, Guadalajara, the Ambassador of India received the baton of the Guest Country from His Excellency Sr. Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, the Prime Minister of Portugal, this year’s Guest Country at the FIL 2018. Guadalajara 2019 In his speech, the Prime Minister also evoked his own Indian roots to Goa to which his father belonged, and called himself, “official cultural Ambassador of India” as well. On this occasion, the Prime Minister of Portugal and the Ambassador of India also exchanged traditional gifts of their countries. Speaking on the occasion Sr. Raul Padilla Lopez, Chairman FIL and Ms. Marisol Schulz Manaut, Director General, FIL thanked India for accepting to be the Guest of Honour at the 2019 edition of FIL, and how they looked forward to having a great presentation from India, which has a rich and diverse literary and cultural traditions.

A cultural presentation by a three-member Indian musical group, arranged by the Cultural Centre of Embassy of India, Mexico gave an enthralling performance on the occasion. A logo of the event presented as a run-up to the celebration of the 75 years of India´s independence was also unveiled on the occasion.