Mendoni, Hu Heping discuss strengthening of cultural cooperation between Greece and China

According to a culture ministry announcement, the two ministers signed the renewal and expansion of the Cooperation Agreement in the field of Underwater Cultural Heritage, which encourages scientific cooperation and joint underwater archaeological research in Greece and China.

An extensive discussion took place on the establishment of the Museum of Marine Antiquities in the Silo building, in the port of Piraeus, in accordance with the concession agreement between the Ministry of Culture and COSCO. The museum project is in the process of selecting a contractor for its construction, while the financing of the project, with a budget of 100,000,000 euros, has been secured from the Recovery Fund.

As Lina Mendoni stated "the relations between the two countries, Greece and China, are based on mutual respect for the ancient and particularly important cultures developed by our two peoples. In the framework of the Year 'Greece - China 2021-2023 in Culture and Tourism' many joint actions were planned, which were not implemented due to the measures of the pandemic. Between the ministries, museums, cultural organisations of the two countries there is already a huge programme of actions underway, from the last quarter of 2023 to 2025. The scope for cooperation in the field of culture between the two countries is very large. The establishment of the 'Cultural Dialogue' every two years, which was proposed by the Chinese side, can only have positive results. The establishment, also, of a Chinese Archaeological Institute in Greece, based at the Cultural Center of China in Athens, is a very interesting proposal which can proceed based on the current institutional framework. In the field of contemporary creation, important agreements have already been signed, which we can strengthen and expand."

On his part, Minister Hu Heping thanked Lina Mendoni for her cooperation and acceptance of his proposals and underlined that "we are ancient civilizations that share common characteristics. As Nikos Kazantzakis, Confucius and Socrates said, they are two masks that cover the same face: the bright face of human reason. We have to make even more efforts for our cooperation and the best way is to develop our cultural relations."