The ceremony was held on Tuesday, 7th of Sha'ban 1439 AH corresponding to April 24, 2018 at the Hall Imam Hassan (peace be upon him) in the al-Abbas's (p) Holy Shrine, in the presence of its Secretary-General Eng. Mohammad Al-Ashigar and a number of its officials and administrators, as well as a delegation representing the Imam al-Hussayn's (p) Holy Shrine.
The honoring ceremony started by a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and reciting Surat Al-Fatihah in memory of the martyrs of Iraq, followed by the speech to the director of the Fair Dr. Mushtaq Al-Ali stressing that the objectives and messages of the fair is to restore balance between man and book, especially if the book is produced by a reliable institution or publishing house or library that collects information and communicates it to the recipient wholeheartedly and safely.
Followed by a speech by the publishing houses delivered on behalf of them by Professor Emad Al-'Aydi from the Republic of Lebanon, noting: "The more the cultures are diversified, the more the civilizations are developed, the need for the book is increased so that the future nations and generations read books that are the school for humanity."
Then came a speech by the Federation of Iraqi Publishers by Acting Professor Mahdi Hadi Shaalan, in which he stated: "Karbala International Book Fair restored the consideration and respect to the Iraqi writers who became orphan in these difficult circumstances by the means of modern technology and was subjected to marginalization."
The ceremony was concluded by honoring the distinguished publishing houses preceded by honoring representatives of the Popular Mobilization Forces, namely the Ali Al Akbar's (p) Brigade and the al-Abbas's (p) Fighting Squad, which participated in the fair, followed by a tribute to Karbala Satellite TV channel and AlKafeel Center for Photography and Artistic Production in appreciation of their efforts to cover the fair.