PARIS: The Unesco on July 21 announced that Conakry — the capital of Guinea in west Africa — will be the World Book Capital for 2017.

The UN organisation said the decision by an international committee of experts was based on west Africa’s “quality and diversity of its programme, in particular its focus on community involvement” and “for its well-structured budget and clear development goals with a strong emphasis on youth and literacy”, Xinhua reported.

“Books, learning and reading are key to human life. The strong investment of the Republic of Guinea in promoting books and literacy bears witness to a clear vision of culture and education as drivers of development and recovery,” said Unesco director general Irina Bokova.

Bokova also pledged more support or the country’s efforts to improve education.