From May 28 to 30, Li Qun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the National Cutural Heritage Administration, led a cultural relics delegation of the Chinese government to visit Cyprus. Chinese Ambassador to Cyprus Liu Yantao accompanied and participated in relevant activities.
During his stay in Serbia, Li Qun met with the Minister of Transport, Communications, and Engineering of Serbia, Wafiatis, the head of the Ministry of Culture, Emmanuel, and the Minister of Tourism, Kumis, to actively exchange views and reach full consensus on cooperation in the fields of culture, cultural relics, and tourism between China and Serbia.
Both China and Serbia are ancient civilizations with rich achievements in cultural, cultural relics, and tourism cooperation. China is willing to work together with Serbia to implement the Global Civilization Initiative and strengthen cultural exchanges and mutual learning between the two countries. Li Qun stated that China will further strengthen institutional cooperation with Serbia, implement and promote various signed and pending agreements, and promote new cooperation between the two sides in areas such as cultural relic protection and restoration, underwater archaeology, museum exchanges, cultural relic exhibitions, recovery and return of lost cultural relics, and protection of cultural heritage in conflict areas.
Li Qun focused on introducing the situation of the first Asian Cultural Heritage Conservation Alliance to the Serbian side. Li Qun, representing the presidency of the Asian Cultural Heritage Conservation Union, invited Cyprus to join the alliance.
The heads of the cultural, cultural relics, and tourism departments in Cyprus unanimously believe that the foundation of cultural heritage exchange and cooperation between China and Cyprus is solid, and the prospects are bright. Serbia is willing to work with China to fully unleash the potential of cultural heritage cooperation between the two countries, coordinate their positions in international multilateral cooperation mechanisms, and continue to carry out cooperation in the recovery and return of lost cultural relics. (Zhang Ying)