From October 13 to 16, a delegation led by Indrananda Abeysekera, President of the Association for Sri Lanka-China Social and Cultural Cooperation (ASLCSCC), visited Ningxia. The purpose of the visit was to look into Ningxia’s development regarding specialty industries, ethnic unity, governance at the community level, and integration of culture and tourism, while fostering tangible cooperation. Bai Yuzhen, Director-General of the Ningxia Foreign Affairs Office and President of the Ningxia People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (NPAFFC), met with the delegation.

The delegation had on-site visits to the Changcheng Garden Residential Community in Jinfeng District, Minning New Image Exhibition Center, Hemei E-commerce Workshop, Helanhong Winery, Wolfberry Goji Museum, Liu Sanduo Babaocha Technology Company, Yinchuan Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA Yinchuan), and Western Xia Mausoleums. They obtained an insight into Ningxia’s ethnic unity and governance at the community level, the transformation of Minning Town from a barren land to a thriving township under the east-west cooperation in poverty alleviation, the inspiring stories of housewives in Minning Town making a good living through live-streaming sales, as well as Ningxia’s practices for advancing high-quality development of industries including wine, goji, and culture and tourism.

During their stay in Ningxia, the delegation also visited Ningxia Medical University, where they met with Sri Lankan students and engaged in a dialogue with officials from the School of International Education and the International Cooperation and Exchanges Department. The two sides had a thorough discussion on the enrollment of international students, short- and medium-term training programs, and the potential for collaboration in traditional medicine between China and Sri Lanka, and came to a preliminary understanding.

President Abeysekera noted that through the visit the delegation obtained a comprehensive view of the remarkable achievements made of the Chinese path to modernization in Ningxia. He highlighted that Ningxia’s approaches in fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, improving public services at the community level, creating employment opportunities for impoverished groups, and driving the growth of specialty industries are valuable lessons for Sri Lanka. The ASLCSCC is committed to serving as a bridge to facilitate friendly exchanges between Sri Lanka and Ningxia and will actively promote practical cooperation in areas including international friendship city relations, culture, education, youths- and women-related matters, and specialty industries.

Fan Huafeng, Deputy Director-General of the Ningxia Foreign Affairs Office and Vice President of the NPAFFC, attended the meeting, while the Director of the General Office of the NPAFFC accompanied the delegation during their visit.