H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Cultural Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate for the post of Director-General of Unesco, with officials at the Peking University (PKU) in Beijing.
Beijing: H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Cultural Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate for the post of Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), has stressed the depth of relations between the Arab and Chinese cultures.
In a lecture at the Peking University (PKU) under the title of “China and the Arabs: The Lesson of Dialogue of Cultures”, Dr Al Kawari said the prestigious Peking University is a symbol of the close relationship between China and the Arabs in modern history since the establishment of the Department of Arabic Language and Culture in 1946, referring to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Cooperation between the Qatar University and PKU in 2012.
Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has announced the foundation of Qatar Chair for Middle East Studies at the University of Peking with a grant of $10m, Dr Al Kawari said, noting that the Qatar-China 2016 Year of Culture expresses Qatar’s appreciation for the bilateral relations between the two countries and the importance of culture in achieving rapprochement among peoples.
Dr Al Kawari stressed that Qatar and the People’s Republic of China have strong bilateral relations in various fields and play a joint role in enhancing the dialogue between peoples of the world.
Both countries have maintained the relations, which are historical and deeply rooted, he added.
Dr Al Kawari reviewed the history of cultural exchanges between China and the Arab world, referring to travellers Ibn Battuta and Wang Dayuan who contributed in enriching Arab and Chinese civilisations.
