Idlib, Sept. 12 (SANA)The fourth edition of theIdlib Book Fairopened Saturday, bringing together nearly 100 publishing houses and bookstores fromSyria, Lebanon, theUnited Arab Emirates,Türkiyeand other countries as organizers seek to promote reading and cultural life in post-liberation Syria.

The seven-day fair, held at the Cultural Center in Idlib under the patronage of the Culture Ministry, may be extended, organizers said.

Presidential adviser Mowaffaq Ahmad Zaidansaid the first edition of the Idlib Book Fair remained a symbol of “soft power” in areas formerly liberated, noting that the slogan “From here, our destination is Damascus” emerged in Idlib, where he said the path toward the liberation of the capital began.

Zaidan said Idlib had “cast off the cloak of defeat, oppression and imprisonment and put on the cloak of victory,” adding that history would record the area as the place from which revolutionaries set out to liberate Damascus and the rest of Syria.

He said books and education had served as driving forces for the Syrian state after the liberation, citing Idlib University, which has more than 20 faculties and around 25,000 students.

Zaidan also thanked the Defense and Interior ministries and paid tribute to martyrs of Sarmada, Binnish and across Syria.

Presidential adviser for religious affairs Abdul Rahim Atoun said rebuilding a unified and strong Syria would require determination, patience, cooperation and clear planning.

He stressed the importance of education and books in the country’s recovery, saying the fair offered an opportunity to renew interest in reading at a time when technology and social media increasingly dominate everyday life.

Culture Minister Mohammad Yassin al-Saleh described this year’s fair as the first edition since the liberation and linked the event to Idlib’s long history of knowledge and scholarship, stretching back to the ancient tablets of Ebla.

Al-Saleh said Idlib had brought together Syrians from different cities and towns over the years, with books and knowledge serving as a link between their different experiences and communities.

He recalled that organizers of an earlier edition had declared, “Our destination is Damascus,” saying that aspiration had since been realized.

Al-Saleh said the Damascus International Book Fair had also marked Syria’s return to a broader cultural life, noting that books and titles were made available without censorship and that readers were given the freedom to read, choose and engage in dialogue.

He said the ministry was seeking to expand cultural activities from Idlib and Damascus to other provinces, creating a network in which writers, publishers, readers and books could move between cities and each province could contribute its own voice, memory and creative work.

“Freedom of knowledge is at the heart of building the state,” al-Saleh said, arguing that while homes are built with stone and states with laws and institutions, knowledge and education build the people capable of preserving them.The opening of the Idlib Cultural Center last year was the first step in a wider national cultural project, he said, adding that the ministry aims to establish cultural events in every province and connect book fairs across the country.

Idlib Governor Mohammad Abdul Rahman said culture and knowledge were not luxuries but essential foundations for developing individuals and shaping the country’s future.

Reconstruction of infrastructure was important, he said, but “rebuilding people” was the greater task, adding that a society that reads and learns is better equipped to shape its future.

The opening ceremony was attended by Information Minister Khaled Zaarour, Emergency and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh, as well as government officials, cultural figures, community representatives and local officials.