Writers from Asia and Africa will be ambassadors for peace, freedom of expression and preservation of each country's own identity and culture, said Mohamed Salmawy, president of the African-Asian Writers Union at the closing ceremony of the first meeting of Permanent Bureau of the Union in Ha Noi yesterday.— Photo thethaovanhoa

HA NOI — Writers from Asia and Africa will be ambassadors for peace, freedom of expression and preservation of each country's own identity and culture, said Mohamed Salmawy, president of the African-Asian Writers Union at the closing ceremony of the first meeting of Permanent Bureau of the Union in Ha Noi yesterday.

The first meeting was held in Ha Noi and Quang Ninh Province from August 25-29, after the Union was re-established in December 2012 in Cairo, Egypt.

It was founded in 1957, but dissolved 30 years later due to the political tensions in the world.

The meeting this time aimed to revive cultural relations between Viet Nam and other countries in the world.

"The Union has become one of the most prestigious writers' associations in the world and I hope writers will put a hand together to make the Union develop further in the future," said Salmawy.

During the five-day meeting, 14 representatives from more than 50 member countries of the Union gathered in Ha Noi to discuss major topics. They included the development of bilateral relations, the opening of intellectual channels through conferences, symposiums, translated books, as well as the training of young writers, to help them face the difficult challenge of preserving their own identity and holding strong to the values of each country's.

The highlight of the meeting was the signing of an agreement to strengthen co-operation in the field of literature between the Viet Nam Writers Association (VWA) and its Egyptian counterpart on Monday.

Poet Huu Thinh, president of the VWA, said the agreement was significant, as the Egypt Writers Association was the first writers' body in Africa to sign an agreement with the VWA.

Salmawy, who is also president of the Egypt Writers Association, said the agreement would facilitate visits between writers from both countries, the translation of Vietnamese and Egyptian literary works and annual conferences covering major prevailing topics.

During the Permanent Bureau meeting, representatives also decided to extend the range of membership with three levels.

"At the first level, we want to encourage member countries in the region to join. At the second level, we'll try to include Latin American countries in the Union. And finally, we hope that the Union will have honorary members, outside Africa, Asia and Latin America, who would be willing to join in based on personal relations," said Salmawy.

The representatives also decided to publish the Lotus magazine every three weeks and in three languages: English, French and Arabic with a special edition in Vietnamese.

A volume of short stories from all member countries will also be produced in three languages.

A literary prize named Lotus will also be awarded to writers of the Union who make great contributions to the literary development of their countries.

In the 60s and 70s when the Union was still active, Vietnamese writers including Nguyen Ngoc, To Hoai and Thu Bon won the prize.

The second meeting of the Permanent Bureau of the African-Asian Writers Union is expected to be held next February in Baghdad, Iraq.

According to Salmawy, the Union has always been an independent union who receives its budget from the membership fees for member countries and voluntary donations by organisations. — VNS