The 3rd South Asia International Book Fair kicked off at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo, running alongside the Colombo International Book Fair. Built with Chinese assistance as a gift to Sri Lanka, the venue stands as a landmark of enduring China-Sri Lanka friendship.
Co-organized by China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Corporation (CNPIEC, also known as Guotu Group), the Contemporary Media and Research Centre of Nepal, and the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association, the fair marks the 70th anniversary of China-Sri Lanka diplomatic ties in 2027. It aims to promote cultural exchange across South Asia and add a humanistic dimension to the China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future.
The event combines cultural exchanges, book exhibitions, cultural and creative showcases, thematic seminars, achievement releases and intangible cultural heritage experiences. Publishing and cultural institutions from China, Pakistan, the Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Poland and Canada are taking part in dialogues among civilizations.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya attended the opening ceremony of the Colombo International Book Fair and the South Asia International Book Fair. The South Asia fair was jointly inaugurated by Wei Huaxiang, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka; Vijay Kumar Raut, Chargé d’Affaires of the Nepalese Embassy in Sri Lanka; Zhao Zhen, Director of the Import and Export Department of CNPIEC; Kiran Gautam, President of the Contemporary Media and Research Centre of Nepal; Athula Jayakody, President of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association; Dinesh Kulatunga, Chair of IBBY Sri Lanka and former President of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association; and Danyal Salam, General Manager of Ferozsons and representative of Pakistani publishers.
Zhao Zhen said the fair blends the fragrance of books with friendship, conveying affection through literature and pooling strength through culture. CNPIEC is ready to use international book fairs as a platform to achieve more practical results with publishers worldwide in copyright trade, co-translation and co-publication, and distribution channel expansion.
Sudeep Gurung, Marketing Director of the Contemporary Media and Research Centre of Nepal, said the fair creates a channel for participants to share books and stories, and hoped participants could seize this chance to explore new cooperation opportunities and nurture long-standing friendship.
Dinesh Kulatunga said the fair offers publishers, writers and readers across South Asia a platform to gather, exchange ideas and forge closer bonds, and hoped more readers will learn about Sri Lankan culture and history through books.
Danyal Salam said the beauty of translation lies in a single story crossing mountains and seas to enter the childhoods of children in different countries. He looked forward to bringing more Pakistani folk tales to South Asia and the wider world.
As organizer of the fair and designer-constructor of the China Pavilion, CNPIEC brought around 20 Chinese publishing houses and think tanks to the event. The China Pavilion showcases more than 2,000 quality Chinese titles and over 300 cultural and creative products. Highlights include foreign-language and Chinese editions of important works by President Xi Jinping, such as Selected Works of Xi Jinping Volumes I and II, and The Governance of China Volumes I‑V, as well as China-themed publications including Poverty Alleviation and Key Concepts in China, together with titles on politics, economy, history, literature, art, natural sciences, Chinese-language education, children’s books and traditional Chinese medicine.
Guests toured the featured book exhibition area, the China International Communications Group (CICG) booth, Chinese publishers’ booths, the China-South Asia copyright cooperation zone, the cultural-creative book sales area and the Chinese culture display and interactive zone. During the tour, Zhao Zhen briefed them on the pavilion’s layout and China’s recent progress in content innovation and international publishing cooperation.
“The South Asia International Book Fair is an invaluable platform for people from different countries and cultural backgrounds to tell their own stories and share unique humanistic experiences,” Kulatunga said. “The meaning of reading lies precisely in such cross-cultural exchange. I hope the industry will hold more such events so readers everywhere can understand the wider world through books.”
A Sri Lankan reader said the fair was a fine opportunity to learn China’s development story. “The books gave me a multidimensional picture of China and moved me deeply,” he said, hoping for closer cultural cooperation and more Chinese books translated into local languages. Another reader noted that books carry richer, more touching detail than short news reports, and hoped Chinese titles will reach households across Sri Lanka.
The fair runs from Sept. 25 to 29, with copyright seminars, new-book launches, writer dialogues, book recommendation sessions, book donations and cultural experience activities designed to forge closer people-to-people bonds across nations.