STORY: Chinese aid helps renovate primary school in Damascus
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 7, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 9, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:24
LOCATION: Damascus
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Ahmad Munif al-A'di primary school
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MOHAMMAD AMER MARDINI, Syrian Minister of Education
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): SHI HONGWEI, Chinese Ambassador to Syria

STORYLINE:

A ceremony was held Thursday in Damascus 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.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MOHAMMAD AMER MARDINI, Syrian Minister of Education
"This is a happy day at the Ministry of Education. A school returns to receive students again. The truth is, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of myself and all Syrians to the People's Republic of China for their contribution to the reconstruction process, especially in the educational sector. The contribution to the educational sector is to help in building a generation."

Chinese Ambassador to Syria Shi Hongwei, for his part, said China will continue supporting Syria's education sector to the best of its capability.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): SHI HONGWEI, Chinese Ambassador to Syria
"China will make utmost efforts or provide more humanitarian assistance to the Syrian side as much as we can, and we will continue to provide grants or assistance for the reconstruction of Syria, especially in the educational field."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Damascus.
(XHTV)