He said players in the book publishing value-chain were working to create infrastructure to make Ghana join the international centres of book publishing.

He has, therefore, called on the Government, private sector, Accra Metropolitan Assembly and the media to help make the dreams of the Ghana Publishers a reality.

Mr Agyare said this at the launch of the 16^th GIBF in Accra on Thursday.

Scheduled for August 30 to September 2, 2018, the GIBF is on the general theme: “Revitalizing the Book Chain for National and International Cooperation.”

The four-day event, to be hosted in Accra, would have seminars on copyright, forum on rights and licensing, creative arts synergy, reading clinic for children and book industry awards as some of the major programmes.

“What we are trying to do have major national development impacts, because we are trying to tell society that book matters,” Mr Agyare said.

Launching the GIBF, Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, said the fair was not for publishers only, but for Ghanaians in general and so “there is the need for them to own it and run with it.”

He said: “The GBIF is a cultural and an educational event used in celebrating books through collective citizen participation.”

Touching on the educational aspect of GIBF, Mr Sowah said the citizenry would benefit from diverse knowledge to help develop the country in a more practical way.

He said economically there would be opportunities for exhibitors, sellers, buyers, students and the public to showcase and promote the country globally.

He called on the citizenry to inculcate into the youth the art of buying books and reading them extensively as doing so would not only broaden their knowledge and literacy but enhance their vocabulary.

Mr Sowah urged the public to make use of libraries to be literate and intellectually sound through reading.

He pledged the AMA’s support towards the event as well as his active participation throughout the process.

By Elsie Appiah-Osei/Thelma Abbey, GNA