Qatar Honored as Guest Country at Costa Rica International Book Festival

Qatar was the guest country of honour at the fifth Costa Rica Reading Festival, held in San Jose from September 11 to 13, 2026. The festival took place at the Antigua Aduana cultural centre in the Costa Rican capital. It presented Qatari literary and cultural works as part of a wider effort to build cultural ties with Latin America.

At the centre of Qatar's presence was a dedicated pavilion designed in the style of traditional Qatari architecture. It displayed publications from Qatar's Ministry of Culture, including works translated into Spanish, the main language of Costa Rica and most of Latin America. The pavilion also showed books and intellectual and literary works by Qatari authors. Visitors could try traditional Qatari crafts and Arabic calligraphy through interactive activities.

Jassem Ahmed Al Buainain, director of the Doha International Book Fair, said Qatar's participation showed how culture can promote dialogue and understanding between peoples. Al Buainain's fair is one of the Gulf's longest-running literary events, and his role linked Doha's own publishing scene with the Central American festival.

The Ministry of Culture said the participation was part of Qatar's push to expand international cultural exchange and to work more closely with cultural institutions and publishers around the world. Spanish translations give Qatari writers a route to readers across Latin America, a region where Arabic-language literature has had limited distribution.

The San Jose festival was one of several Qatari cultural engagements in Latin America this month. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums, concluded a cultural tour of South America in late September.