Chinese aid helps renovate primary school in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony was held here Thursday to mark the completion of a primary school renovation project with the assistance of the Chinese embassy in Syria.

At the ceremony, Syria's Education Minister Mohammad Amer Mardini thanked the Chinese side for its sustained help in refurbishing the Ahmad Munif al-A'di primary school and supporting the country's reconstruction with concrete actions.

"This is a happy day at the Ministry of Education. A school returns to receive students again," the minister said, adding that the Chinese contribution to the Syrian education sector is "help in building a generation."

Chinese Ambassador to Syria Shi Hongwei, for his part, told the ceremony that education is a social cause that bears national hope and future.

He said China will continue supporting Syria's education sector to the best of its capability and continue the traditional friendship between the two countries.