HA NOI – (VNS) The 4th Viet Nam International Book Fair kicks off at the Viet Nam Exhibition Centre in Ha Noi next week, with this year's event marking a very special occasion.

It is now 60 years sinc the birth of Viet Nam's publishing, printing and distribution industry (1952-12) and organisers have lined up a number of events to commemorate the milestone.

During the five-day event, from September 17-21, a host of domestic and international publishers will display around 30 million books covering a wide variety of topics.

Hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communications, the biennial event aims to promote reading culture and build up a society that is fond learning and reading, according to the vice minister Do Quy Doan.

To support the book fair, a range of sideline activities will be held from September 10 to October 10. They include libraries donating books to border troops and soldiers camping on Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, and a seminar entitled Reading Culture and Viet Nam's Reading Day. – VNS