On October 30, Chinese Ambassador to Syria Shi Hongwei paid courtesy call on the new Syrian Minister of Culture Diala Barakat to exchange views on strengthening cultural cooperation between the two countries.

Shi Hongwei said that exchanges between Chinese and Syrian people dated back to long time ago, and the cultural interactions were rich and colorful. Last year, the two leaders of our countries jointly announced the establishment of strategic partnership, which promoted the further consolidation and deepening of the friendship between two sides that has been passed down for thousands of years. China is willing to strengthen personnel exchanges with Syria and expand cooperation channels, to enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, and enrich the connotation of the China-Syria strategic partnership, and to achieve more fruitful results for the Global Civilization Initiative.

Diala said that Syria and China are both ancient civilizations, and the ancient Silk Road witnessed the friendly history of mutual appreciation and achievements between the two peoples. The Global Civilization Initiative is a new Chinese plan to promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and promote the progress of human civilization, and Syria highly appreciates and firmly supports this initiative. Syria looks forward to more participation in bilateral and multilateral cultural activities between the two countries, and constantly injecting new vitality into our traditional friendship.