At the invitation of Gansu Province, a NEAR member government, NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin attended the 8th Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo held in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China, from Saturday, September 20 to Sunday, September 21. His program included the distinguished guests’ group meeting, welcome banquet, and the official opening ceremony.
The group meeting of distinguished guests took place on September 20 from 18:00 to 18:30 at the Dunhuang International Hotel, chaired by Tie Ning, Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China. Joseph Isaac, Speaker of the House of Assembly of Dominica, delivered remarks on behalf of the guests, followed by a welcome bouquet.
The opening ceremony was moderated by Ren Zhenhe, Governor of Gansu Province. Congratulatory remarks were delivered by Hu Changsheng, Party Secretary of Gansu Province; Qu Xing, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO; Prasop Riengngoen, Vice Minister of Culture of Thailand; Shlyakhtin Dmitry Gennadievich, First Deputy Minister of Culture of Belarus; and Joseph T. Isaac, Speaker of the House of Assembly of Dominica. Afterwards, Tie Ning, Vice Chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee, delivered a keynote speech and officially declared the expo open.
<Hu Changsheng, Party Secretary of Gansu Province>
Hu Changsheng, Party Secretary of Gansu Province, highlighted in his opening address that the Dunhuang Cultural Expo, now in its eighth edition, has played a key role in promoting global cultural exchange, integration, and people-to-people connectivity. He expressed hope that Gansu Province would further strengthen cultural cooperation both domestically and internationally to shape a shared future.
Other attendees included Sun Yeli, Vice Minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Culture and Tourism; Gu Xiaoyu, Deputy Director of the NPC Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee; Xu Yongjun, Party Leadership Member and Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Dong Gang, Vice President of the China Federation of Radio and Television Social Organizations; Zheng Qingdong, President and Editor-in-Chief of Economic Daily; and Zhu Haili, Vice President of Xinhua News Agency, among many others.
Following the ceremony, participants enjoyed the cultural performance “Silk Road, Flower Rain” and toured Dunhuang’s cultural and tourism facilities, including the Mogao Caves, Dunhuang Museum, and Dunhuang Printing House.
During the event, Secretary-General Lim met with Hu Changsheng, Party Secretary of Gansu Province; Ren Zhenhe, Governor of Gansu Province; Wang Yi, Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China; Ma Shaojie, Party Secretary of Lanzhou University; Wang Liqi, Party Secretary of Jiuquan City; Sohail Khan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization; and You Sonoda, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in China. He introduced NEAR and requested support and interest in its activities.
Secretary- General Lim also engaged with Consul General Lum Wan Liang of Malaysia in Xi’an and Consul General Aurapin Hanchanchaiku of Thailand, both in Xi’an, introducing NEAR and explaining the “NEAR+2” policy and, encouraging active participation of Southeast Asian local governments such as Malaysia and Thailand in joining NEAR.
<Sohail Khan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization>
Yang Guk-jin, Deputy Governor of Goheung County, Republic of Korea / You Sonoda, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in China
(Left) Wang Dewen, Vice Mayor of Dunhuang City / (Right) Interview with Gansu Daily
Launched in 2015 with the approval of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo, is a state-level platform for international cultural exchange included in the Belt and Road Initiative Strategic Plan.