The Egyptian Embassy here organized a forum on dialogue among different civilizations as part of celebrations of 2016 Sino-Egyptian Culture Year.

Addressing the forum, Egyptian Ambassador Magdi Amer welcomed the participants, saying activities to be held all through 2016 will help enrich cultural relations between the two countries.

Promoting cultural relations between Egypt and China is as important as enhancing political and economic relations between the two countries, the diplomat said.

The forum focuses on more than one part of Egyptian and Chinese civilizations both in the past and at the present, he said, referring to the Silk Road initiative by which China hopes to revive the Silk Route, an ancient network of trade routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the West and East from China to the Mediterranean Sea.

UNESCO representative in China Marielza Oliveira said culture can play a vital role in achieving rapprochement among human beings. It is the key to understanding and sustainable development, she added.

She called for building more bridges of understanding, interaction and cultural development between countries.

A Pharaonic exhibition was held on the sidelines of the forum. It will run for three days, said Egyptian media counselor at the embassy Hoda Gad.

A seminar on the ancient Egyptian and Chinese culture will be also held, she told MENA correspondent.

Source: MENA