Arabs, China agree to establish digital library

Representatives of Arab states and a Chinese delegation agreed here in Cairo on Wednesday to establish an expansive Arab-Chinese digital library so as to enhance cultural cooperation between the two sides.

In their meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, the Chinese delegation led by Chen Li, deputy director of the National Library of China (NLC), and the Arabs signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate and exchange expertise in the fields of press, information and communication.

"We are working on the establishment of an Arab-Chinese digital library and we are about to prepare a digital library through the project of documentation of the Arab League's memory," Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Arab League Assistant Secretary-General for Media and Communication, told Xinhua.

The official stressed that Arab states are very much interested in working with China due to the giant Asian country's long history and rich cultural heritage.

The meeting came within the framework of enhancing the relations between China and the Arab world in accordance with what the two sides have agreed at the Arab-China cooperation forum in 2004.

"We recommended some projects including enhancing the institutional abilities of those working in the fields of libraries and information and establishing an Arab-Chinese training center in the fields of documentation, information and libraries," Abu Ghazaleh pointed out.

The Arab nations have also decided to donate over 5,000 books on Arabic history and culture to the NLC, one of the biggest libraries in the world.

For his part, the NLC deputy chief said that Arab countries and China are all ancient civilizations that maintained frequent cultural interactions throughout their history.

"We hope to enhance the idea of regional cooperation on libraries, build a platform between Arab and Chinese libraries, fill in the gap in cooperation in this field and promote bilateral understanding and mutual learning," Chen told Xinhua.