CAIRO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian and Chinese officials held on Wednesday night a forum in Cairo to exchange expertise on modernization of governance to boost Egypt's Vision 2030 for sustainable development.
Entitled "Governance and Egypt's Vision 2030," the two-day forum is held by the Egyptian cabinet and the Chinese Embassy in Cairo to share visions on governance and development and highlight the common principles between Egypt's Vision 2030 and China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Osama el-Gohary, an assistant of Egypt's prime minister and head of the cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center, a co-organizer of the event, said that such a forum represents a platform for Egyptian and Chinese experts to exchange opinions on development experience and initiatives.
"The forum seeks to learn about China's experiences in governance and sustainable development, convey to the Chinese side our relevant expertise and highlight the links between China's BRI and Egypt's Vision 2030," the Egyptian official told Xinhua.
Gohary described China's BRI as "one of the most important development tools in the world today."
For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang stressed that today's world development faces new challenges, highlighting the need for global stability and peace through good governance and development.
"China-Egypt exchange of expertise in governance is a manifestation of the growing mutual exchange and learning between the two countries," the Chinese ambassador told the attendees.
Proposed by China in 2013, the BRI aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond.
Under the initiative, dozens of Chinese companies have been operating in Egypt and working on national Egyptian mega projects in the field of infrastructure, including energy, construction and transport, amid growing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
"Egypt has a real and earnest desire to learn from the Chinese model and experiences in the vital fields of governance and sustainable development," Selim, Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs, said during the forum.
The Egyptian diplomat hailed China's growing success, saying that the giant Asian country is distinguished by "stretching hands of cooperation and support to its strategic partners toward broader horizons of development and prosperity."
The forum will hold four sessions on Thursday to discuss modernization of national governance systems, sustainable development, poverty reduction and the shared principles of China's BRI and Egypt's Vision 2030.
Al-Sayed al-Sherif, first deputy Speaker of Egypt's Parliament, asked the forum's organizers to send its final recommendations to the Egyptian parliament to be considered by Egyptian lawmakers.
