Algeria pays tribute to China's Silk Road with large exhibition

Algerian Minister of Culture Azzedine Mihoubi (front) visits a photo exhibition on the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative in Algiers, Algeria, May 15, 2018. Chinese Embassy in Algeria held here on Tuesday a photo exhibition with the B&R Initiative as its theme. (Xinhua)

ALGIERS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Embassy in Algeria held here on Tuesday a photo exhibition with the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative as its theme, featuring photographs that display various projects under the initiative in countries along the route of the B&R.

The event is part of a larger exhibition held with the theme of the Road of Silk and Knowledge, which was organized by Algeria's Ministry of Culture and dedicated to the oldest trading route in the world.

Azzedine Mihoubi, Algerian Minister of Culture, and staff members of the Chinese Embassy in Algiers attended the large exhibition, which lauds the contribution made by China to both the old Silk Road and the new Silk Road, or the B&R.

Mihoubi told Xinhua that "the relations between Algeria and China were deep in history... the reviving of the Silk Road project is the reviving of a dream that used to connect many peoples together."

He added that the exhibition "displays two pictures about China, an old China and a modern China that embraces the age of modernity with wonderful cultural achievements."

The exhibition will last for a month, as some artists, authors and writers will exhibit their works and monitor conferences that deal with the subject of the Silk Road and its contribution.

Chinese Ambassador to Algeria Yang Guangyu has revealed that Algiers and Beijing would sign a draft partnership agreement to include Algeria in the Belt and Road Initiative, as the two nations celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of their bilateral ties this year.

"The project aims to establish aerial, sea and special connectivity between the two countries, while launching roads, highways, ports, airports and telecommunication networks, as well as oil and gas pipelines," Yang said.

He noted that the weight of a country should be judged by "its ability to create, build and provide development opportunities," adding that the world is "profoundly changing, and China wants to be a builder of peace in the world."