Fourth Arab Trade Fair opens in Tripoli

More than 16,000 visitors attended during opening weekend.

Held under the patronage of the Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture in Tripoli and North Lebanon, the 10-day exhibition spreads over 4,000 m2 and gathers consumer goods crafts, furniture, clothing and arts from Senegal, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Portugal, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.

In addition, a series of Forums are scheduled throughout the coming week. They cover economic issues, including lectures by former Finance Minister Georges Corm on October 13, environmental, cultural, and archeological topics.

Tripoli-based Fairs International launched the first Arab Trade Fair in the northern Lebanese capital in 1998, with the participation of 150 Lebanese, Egyptian and Syrian exhibitors and attendance of over 100,000 visitors. The third Arab Trade Fair in 2001 attracted over 130,000 visitors.

Designed by world-renowned architect Oscar Nemeyer- the man who designed Brazil's capital city Brazilia- the Rachid Karame International Fairgrounds in Tripoli cover over one million m2 in Lebanon's second largest city.

It includes 90,000 m2 of closed exhibition space, only a portion of which is currently used, an open air theater covered by an arch that replicates its famous sister in Brazilia, and other facilities meant to house museums and additional amenities.

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