Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, chatted over tea and visited a small handicrafts exhibition with Entissar El-Sisi, wife of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, on Wednesday in Cairo.
Peng had a cordial exchange with Entissar on China-Egypt friendship and people-to-people exchanges.
Egypt has a long history and a profound cultural heritage, and the exquisite exhibits fully showcased the wisdom and unique aesthetic sensibilities of the Egyptian people, Peng said.
Noting China and Egypt share many cultural similarities, Peng expressed the hope that artists from the two countries will strengthen exchanges and cooperation to allow traditional crafts to continue to shine with new luster through inheritance and mutual learning.
Peng Liyuan chats over tea, visits exhibition with wife of Egyptian president
Peng Liyuan chats over tea, visits exhibition with wife of Egyptian president
Large vehicles and heavy machinery have now entered the core disaster area of the mudslide-hit Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region following a major effort to clear a key access road, enabling emergency teams to conduct deeper search and rescue operations.
Road access to the core area was restored at around 10:00 Wednesday after days of round-the-clock repair work on the G216 national highway, which was left cut off following last Wednesday's deadly mudslide on the China-Nepal border.
The disaster had damaged an almost three-kilometer section of the highway, forcing the initial rescue teams to trek through the treacherous mountain terrain for over 10 hours or take helicopters to reach the main port area.
With the route re-opened on Wednesday following days of road clearance efforts, more rescue personnel soon entered and immediately optimized their approach.
They closely followed the paths cleared by the heavy machinery, using life detectors and other specialized equipment to conduct detailed searches, while sniffer dogs were also deployed as the teams hope to find any signs of life among the piled boulders, buried buildings, and silted river channels.
Soldiers from the People's Liberation Army Xizang Military Command and the Armed Police Force also joined the operation, helping conduct clearance work and carrying out disinfection at the site.
Specialist teams are also assessing for risks and advising preventative steps to avoid secondary disasters occurring. A joint monitoring group is continually checking the barrier lake dam, upstream glaciers, and other noted landslide points to ensure the safety of ongoing rescue operations.
Temporary insurance claims services have also been launched. Insurers have initially estimated losses at approximately 450 million yuan (around 67 million U.S. dollars), and banks have provided more than 200 million yuan in emergency cash support.
The mudslide, caused by an ice-rock avalanche on the Nepalese side of the border, hit the Gyirong Port on the morning of Aug 26. It has claimed at least 21 lives and left 541 missing at the border port as of Wednesday noon, according to the regional government's latest update.
Heavy machinery enters Gyirong Port mudslide zone after road repair
