On June 24, Ambassador Qi Zhenhong visited the Angulugaha Maha Vidyalaya in Galle and jointly attended the “Culture and Care for Young Hearts, Together in Friendship” school supplies donation event with Hon. Dilith Jayaweera, Leader of the Sarvajana Balaya. Officials from the Education Zonal Office along with over 200 teachers, students and parents participated in the event.

Ambassador Qi Zhenhong stated that China and Sri Lanka are good friends and good partners who have always stood by and supported each other. The friendship between the two countries spans more than 2,000 years. The stories of Faxian Thero’s quest for Buddhist scriptures and Admiral Zheng He’s westward expeditions have become household tales in Sri Lanka, vividly embodying the enduring friendship between our two peoples. Today, we have brought school supplies and daily necessities for the children. We hope these items will help you focus on your studies and grow up healthy, so that you can one day contribute to the prosperity and development of your country. We also hope that, in the years to come, you will become supporters, promoters, contributors to, and beneficiaries of the traditional friendship between China and Sri Lanka, carrying it forward from generation to generation.

Hon. Jayaweera said that China is a true friend who has stood by Sri Lanka through good times and bad, and thanked China for its longstanding and generous assistance to Sri Lanka. The “small” support provided today to students in underprivileged schools will one day become a “great” driving force for taking Sri Lanka-China relations to a new level. We look forward to China's continued valuable support for improving people’s livelihoods in Sri Lanka, and hope that the friendship between Sri Lanka and China will be passed on from generation to generation.