Marat Gatin, Director of the Russian Cultural Centres in Egypt, announced that Russia's participation this year is distinct in terms of  both the composition of the Russian delegation of writers and poets and the quality of Russian books that cover all literary and scientific topics.

During the opening, Gatin affirmed his great admiration for the organisation of the opening ceremony, which saw the participation of a large number of foreign countries.

He also expressed his gratitude and thanks to the organising committee, which arranged for the famous Russian folk song Katyusha to be played in front of the Russian pavilion in a surprise that pleased the Russian delegation and echoed the interest in the cultures of the different peoples participating in the fair.

Gatin said that this is not strange to the Cairo International Book Fair "which is one of the major fairs in the Middle East and the world".

He was keen to invite those interested in Russian culture to meet with the Russian delegation on 3 February, from 3pm until the end of the day, in the seminar hall of the Cairo International Book Fair.

The fair is open to the public from 26 January until 6 February at the International Exhibition Centre in New Cairo. It opens daily from 10am to 8pm, except on Fridays and Saturdays when it closes at 9pm.

On the sidelines of the book fair, the delegation of the Russian House in Cairo, headed by Gatin, and the Director of the Representative Office of the Russian Federal Agency for Cooperation in Egypt participated on 26 January in a seminar dedicated to people with disabilities.

The event was attended by the President of the Egyptian Council for Persons with Disabilities Iman Karim, the Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to Egypt Amjad Al-Adayleh,  the Head of the Village of Hope charitable foundation Nada Thabet, and the Secretary-General of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Jordan Muhannad Al-Azza.

The participants of the event exchanged their experiences in implementing integrated programmes in Egypt and Jordan.

For his part, Gatin raised the issue of the participation of foreign volunteers in the work, citing as an example to the attendees the international humanitarian project "Mission Dobro" (mission of good) which has been implemented since 2021 by the Russian Federal Agency for Cooperation, the Association of Voluntary Centres, and the Russian Humanitarian Mission.