China, Tunisia sign joint archaeological agreement

TUNIS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- China and Tunisia Monday signed a joint cooperation agreement on conducting archaeological investigation, excavation and protection of an ancient Roman site in Tunisia.

Li Qun, China's vice minister of culture and tourism and head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, and Hayat Guermazi, Tunisian culture minister, attended the signing ceremony and held working talks.

Li said that the joint archaeological research between China and Tunisia on the ancient Roman ruins in the region of Ben Arous is of great significance.

Chinese archaeological institutions have carried out 44 joint archaeological projects in 24 countries, and China has relatively advanced archaeological technology and mature experience in foreign cooperation, Li said.

He hoped that the two countries will actively discuss joint archaeology in more heritage sites and carry out cooperation in mutual exhibition of cultural relics, recovery and return of lost cultural relics as well as personnel training.

Noting that both Tunisia and China have a long history and culture, Guermazi expressed her satisfaction with the collaboration between Tunisia and China in the field of archaeology, and voiced hope that the two sides can further expand the scope of cultural cooperation and promote cultural exchanges.