Speaker of Egyptian Parliament Lauds China's AchievementsAhmed Fathi Sorour, speaker of People's Assembly of Egypt, on Wednesday lauded great achievements made by China in its economic development, wishing better ties between the two countries.During his cordial meeting with new Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liu Xiaoming, Sorour spoke highly of China's success in economic reforms. He also expressed appreciation of China's efforts to maintain traditional culture and national characters in the process of carrying out the policy of reforms and opening to the outside world. The speaker praised the time-honored friendship between the two countries. "Friendship between Egypt and China dates back to ancient times and the peoples of the two countries embrace sincere friendly feelings to each other," he said. "The People's Assembly of Egypt and the National People's Congress of China have maintained friendly exchanges," Sorour noted, voicing hope that both parliaments would enhance cooperation in various levels and fields. On the issue of terrorism, the Egyptian speaker said that his country has been strongly against terrorism and supporting the international efforts against it. He stressed the need to change unfair and old international order and resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts in efforts to root out terrorism. The Chinese ambassador, who arrived here last month, said that China values friendly relations with Egypt and the important role Egypt has in both regional and global affairs. "The friendly exchanges between China and Egypt have been increased these years in various fields, including contacts between the parliaments of the two countries," Ambassador Liu said. The two countries have identical viewpoints on the anti-terrorism efforts and many other international issues, he noted, citing broad consensus reached between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during their recent telephone talks. Both China and Egypt resolutely oppose terrorism and both agree to allow the U.N. to have a full play in fighting terrorism, Ambassador Liu said. The two countries insist that any military actions against terrorism must be taken in accordance with the U.N. Chapter, on the basis of strong proof and clear targets, and not at the expense of innocent civilians, Ambassador Liu said. China has all along supported the just struggle by the Palestinians and people of other Arab countries to regain their legitimate rights, said the ambassador. He stressed China's willingness to cooperate and consult with Egypt in fighting terrorism and pushing forward the Middle East peace process. Ambassador Liu conveyed cordial greetings to Sorour from Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China. Sorour also asked Ambassador Liu to convey his best wishes to his Chinese counterpart. |
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