Xi attends handover of Senegal's national wrestling arena

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On Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Senegalese counterpart, Macky Sall, attended the handover ceremony of the National Wrestling Arena built with Chinese aid.

Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were received by Sall and his wife Marieme at the arena, which is in a suburb of Dakar, the capital of Senegal. A large picture of Xi and Sall standing side by side was hung at the entrance for the event.

Both couples saw a photo exhibition about the project before appearing at the arena, where a cheering crowd was waving the national flags of China and Senegal. Banners celebrating China-Africa relations and China-Senegal friendship were hung at the arena.

At the ceremony, the Chinese president handed the "golden key" of the project over to Sall and, afterwards, they watched a traditional Senegalese wrestling event together.

CGTN Photo

The National Wrestling Arena is a vivid reflection of the profound friendship between China and Senegal, Xi said.

Hailing it as a country of culture, Xi said China is ready to work with Senegal in committing itself to preserving and carrying forward traditional cultures, so as to promote cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two sides.

Noting that wrestling is the national treasure of Senegal, Sall extended heartfelt thanks to China for helping build such a modern and multi-functional arena for his country.

The arena is a new emblem of Senegal-China friendship, he added.

It is the first modern arena of this kind in Africa, and is the largest aid project China has carried out in Senegal.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency