Egypt Youth Ministry Held a Special Lecture on the “Belt and Road Initiative”

     On the evening of May 25th, Mr. Shi Yuewen, Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt and Director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo, was invited to attend the “One Belt One Road Initiative” seminar hosted by the Egyptian Ministry of Youth Sports. Former Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif and nearly 100 people from all walks of life in Egypt listened to the lectures.

     At the beginning of the lecture, Prime Minister Sharif first expressed his views on the "One Belt One Road Initiative” in China and expressed his views to the participants. The content is objective and detailed. He said that since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the “Belt and Road Initiative” in Kazakhstan in September 2013, nearly 150 countries and organizations have signed cooperation agreements with China. At present, the “Belt and Road Initiative” is closely related to the development of African countries including Egypt. The successful holding of the Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum not long ago marked a new level of cooperation between China and Africa. Egypt's economic and social development today is inseparable from cooperation with China. China's promotion of its status in the international community is also inseparable from cooperation with the African continent. This is the so-called peaceful cooperation, openness and tolerance, mutual learning，benefit and win-win and good embodiment.

     As the keynote speakers, Counselor Shi Yuewen first thanked Prime Minister Sharif for his warm and friendly speech. He said that Egypt is located at the intersection of Asia, Africa and Europe, and has a pivotal position on the African continent. The gateway to Europe, the Suez Canal Free Trade Zone is particularly important, and is an important stop in the roadmap for the implementation of the “Belt and Road Initiative". At the same time, the “Belt and Road Initiative" will also be a culture for the Chinese and Egypt people, especially the younger generation. Cooperation and exchanges in the fields of education, sports and tourism provide good opportunities. Egypt will also build a bridge for “Made in China” to the world and further promote the creation of a Sino-Arab interest community. Afterwards, Mr.Shi elaborated on the significance of the dialogue of civilizations and emphasized that building a community of human destiny is the development direction and mainstream of the world today. This is the wisdom that China provides to the world, and hopes to get support from people all over the world, including Egypt.

     The lecture was hosted by Nadia Mahmoud, the famous host of the Egyptian National Television Station, and the show was broadcasted the following day.