Strengthen Cooperation with UNESCO to Contribute to the “Belt and Road” Initiative

On 21st June, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Executive Chairman of China International Cultural Communication Center Long Yuxiang met the Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information Eric Falt, and have conducted in-depth communication on strengthening cooperation in the fields of culture, education and science and concerning the establishment of long-term strategic cooperative relations.

Long Yuxiang welcomed Eric Falt’s visit. He stressed that the “Belt and Road” is booming and President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the UNESCO’s participation. Not long ago the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing have invited UNESCO Director-General Ms. Bokova to attend, and the Chinese government signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation (2017-2020) with the UNESCO. CICCC, as an important window for national foreign cultural communication, has conducted frequent exchanges with countries around the world in culture, education and sports, and is able to achieve strategic synergizing and cooperation with UNESCO in a number of areas. Thanks to UNESCO for trusting CICCC and look forward to establishing a long-term partnership with UNESCO.

Eric Falt first extended his thanks to Long Yuxiang for his hospitality. He said that since President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to UNESCO in 2014, the exchanges and cooperation between UNESCO and China have been developing rapidly. Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is both a Goodwill Ambassador of UN and a UNESCO Special Envoy for the Advancement of Girls’ and Women’s Education, has provided great help to UNESCO and has greatly promoted the exchanges and cooperation between UNESCO and China. UNESCO covers an extensive mandate, aiming to promote international cooperation in education, science and culture, to facilitate mutual understanding among all peoples and to safeguard world peace. They are actively seeking international cooperation, and look forward to establishing a partnership with CICCC.

Senior official of the UN Secretary-General’s office Mr. Zaw Win, assistant to the External Relations and Public Information of UNESCO Yousser Mrad, and the former president of the China Book Club of UN Wen Xuejun attended the meeting.