MUSCAT — The media centre at Hotel Intercontinental set up for the international and local media, apart from being a buzz of activity, hosts around eight stalls, out of which six are dedicated to the different AGCC countries.

Most of the stalls have promotional materials of their respective countries in them that include books, CDs and brochures. Books, publications and reports, which depict the progress and development of the AGCC march, occupy much of the space at these stalls.

Salman Mutairi of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Information says, “The purpose of setting up the stall is to provide a deep insight into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Most of the books that the Saudi embassy is keeping are based on photography.

“Books based on photography are always appealing to people. As they say, pictures speak more than words. We have brought a lot of books to be distributed among journalists and other dignitaries visiting the stall,” he says.

Though most books in the stall are in Arabic, there are English books too.

“Books such as the ‘Traditional Craft in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’ and ‘Mada’in Saleh’ are huge hits with the crowd,” says Salman.

“Even our postcards carrying pictures of important landmarks in Saudi Arabia have many takers,” he adds.

Apart from manning the stall, Salman has found time to go around and has been particularly impressed with the nature of the people of Oman.

“They are simple and always smiling. You don’t find this kind of nature among people of other countries. Coming to Oman has been a pleasant experience,” he says. The stall dedicated to the United Arab Emirates is also brimming with books. Books on history, heritage, economy, finance, people, society, environment etc are available in plenty.

“We have brought some exclusive books such as the ‘Drinkers of the Wind’, ‘The Arabian Wind’, ‘Sulphur, Camels and Gun Powder’, ‘Archaeology of UAE’, ‘Perspective of UAE’ etc.,” says Eklas Mohammed, who is from the Emirates.

Posters of Dohar Corniche, The Clock Tower, Al Shuyookh Mosque etc and books can be found neatly arranged in the Qatar stall.

“Qatar has witnessed drastic transformations in its political and social domains in the recent past and we would like the whole world to take notice.

“That is why we are representing Qatar with such a stall,” says an official from Qatar.

Oman’s stall too is lined with interesting books and materials for those wanting to learn more about the country.

Bahrain, the ‘Pearl of Gulf’, has a stall that showcases the country’s rich heritage. It boasts of books and brochures that talk about how that nation has embarked on a new era.

The Kuwaiti stall has information on the beauty of that country as well as the massive development in terms of its economy and urban construction.

The other two stalls are dedicated to the joint ventures undertaken by the GCC countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.