From Kazakhstan to Egypt: Medal of Honor for Ashraf Aboul-Yazid

Bakhyt Rustemov and Ashraf Aboul-Yazid with the medal

By Ashraf Aboul-Yazid
President, Asia Journalists Association

CAIRO: Bakhyt Rustemov, the well-known Kazakh writer and translator, will arrive in Cairo next month, to honor the Egyptian poet and novelist Ashraf Aboul-Yazid with the medal of the International Commonwealth of Peoples’ Diplomacy (МСНД) Kazakhstan, for his contribution to the friendship between the peoples of Kazakhstan and Egypt, in addition to his prominent role in global culture.

The board of directors of the Commonwealth; founded by Rustemov met on November 21 to decide to award this honorary medal to the Egyptian writer, in Cairo on December 18, 2022.

The Kazakh writer, Rustemov, is both a writer outside the local borders and a practitioner of popular diplomacy – playing an important role in friendship between the peoples of the world.

The first meeting between Rustamov and Ashraf Aboul-Yazid was in Turkey during an international literary festival.

Rustamov came from an Asian country with a population of only 20 million to become one of the few in the modern world, who enjoy worldwide recognition and success!

His books are found in the main libraries, from Russia, to the US Library of Congress, as well as the libraries of China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Cuba, Poland, Mongolia, and in a number of Arab countries, as well as in scientific and diplomatic centers. Rustemov has done a lot of work, whether in writing, in staging exhibitions, or in international diplomacy.

Bakhyt Rustemov and Ashraf Aboul-Yazid in Istanbul, 2021, at the Literary Eurasian Festival

Ashraf Aboul-Yazid is a novelist, poet, journalist and writer of travel literature. He has been working in cultural journalism for more than three decades.

He was chosen as the Cultural Personality of the Year, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation, 2012. He received Manhae Prize in Literature 2014 (South Korea) and won the Arab Journalism Award in Culture in 2015 (United Arab Emirates).

He has been awarded the Gold Medal at the Eurasian Literary Festival, Istanbul, 2021, and the African Writers Union Medal for the Most Prominent Patrons of Literature, 2022.

He is a member of the Egyptian Writers Union, President of the Asian Journalists Association, and Editor-in-Chief of the Arabic “The AsiaN” in Arabic; Next News Network, and editor in its sister, “Magazine N”, which is being published in Seoul in Korean, English and Arabic.

He is also the editor-in-chief of the Silk Road Literature series, National Coordinator of the World Poetry Movement in Egypt. He participated in international cultural conferences and festivals in South Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, the UAE, Tatarstan, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Oman, Togo and Nigeria.

He has published 42 books- novels, poetry books, travel literature, biographies, translations, and children’s literature.

Some of his books have been published in English, German, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Korean, Persian, Sindhi, and Malayalam in India.