Sharjah: The UAE has taken impressive strides in publishing and has one of the fastest growing publishing markets globally, Shaikha Budoor Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, founder and honorary president of Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) and member of the International Publishers Association (IPA)’s Executive Committee, said at the Global Publishing Summit being held in Frankfurt, Germany.

Presenting details at the summit of the achievements made in publishing by the UAE in the last 35 years and highlighting the future of the country’s industry, Shaikha Budoor said publishing should not be viewed just as an industry but also as a source of national pride.

“In the UAE, we have witnessed incredible strides [being taken] in publishing, which has grown from being a new industry three-and-a-half decades ago to a flourishing sector marked by key milestones,” she said.

“In the 1980s, we introduced the country’s first press and publications law and held the inaugural Sharjah International Book Fair. These were the foundations for our modern publishing and literature industries and were key initiatives that underpinned the expansion of the sector. [This was] further reinforced in the late 2000s when a number of emirate-level enterprises were formed to drive and professionalise it.”

Shaikha Budoor was addressing publishing executives and was joined at the event by experts from Europe, South America and Southeast Asia, with the summit taking place immediately before the five-day Frankfurt Book Fair — the world’s largest trade fair for books.

She said the UAE has one of the fastest growing publishing markets globally which has grown at 12 per cent annually over the last decade.

“At $233 million (Dh855 million), the domestic publishing industry is the 34th largest in the world and we now publish just short of 500 titles per year — up from a mere six titles in 1970. Our book exports now exceed $40 million (Dh147.4 million) per year, with Europe being our largest global trading partner in the sector. The UAE’s publishing trade relationship with the European Union is worth over $90 million annually,” she added.

Explaining key challenges, Shaikha Budoor said 40 per cent of publishers cite gaps in publishing industry skills as a challenge that is limiting growth.

“This is particularly concerning as the EPA estimates that the publishing industry could employ more than 6,000 people by 2020. In this period of industrial evolution, we must transform our domestic publishing industry to make the UAE globally competitive and into a destination that is attractive for international publishers,” she said.

She also outlined the need for greater retail and distribution channels and highlighted the massive investments being made in libraries, including the $250 million (Dh918 million) Mohammad Bin Rashid Library — the largest such facility in the region. She also spoke of UAE’s aim of becoming a global hub for publishing.

As founder and CEO of Kalimat Group, Shaikha Budoor touched on the importance of instilling reading as a desirable activity for young minds. Kalimat is the first publishing house dedicated to the production of Arabic titles for children that has now published more than 170 children’s books to date.