On June 21 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras attended the opening ceremony for a new hall at the Heraklion Museum with both delivered speeches. 

Premier Li hailed civilization as the crystallization of human wisdom, as cultural exchanges serve as an important basis for country-to-country relations. China and Greece, two countries with great civilizations share similar cultural concepts, especially on things such as loving peace, along with cherishing and maintaining peace. Furthermore, Li said the unique features of Eastern and Western civilizations reflect the diversity of human civilization.

Premier Li addressed during his visit that the two sides have signed a set of cooperation deals, including the establishment of cultural centers in both China and Greece. The two countries have huge potential in working together in areas such as politics, trade and culture. He also talked about the strengthening cultural ties and learning from each other, along with helping to promote all-round cooperation between the two countries.

"We are ready to make concerted efforts with Greece to tap our cooperation potential and make our cooperation shine more brightly not only in Europe but in the world," Li said.

Samaras said that China and Greece are both rooted in the rich soil of civilization. Ancient civilizations have closely linked the two countries together, building a bridge for exchanges and cooperation between the East and the West. Samaras said that Greece will always be a friend of the Chinese people and added that Chinese Premier Li's visit is very fruitful and the cooperation between the two countries is crucial to the development of Greece. Samaras also said that Greece looks forward to deeper and broader win-win collaborations with China, for the benefit of the people on both sides.

Before the opening ceremony, the two premiers visited the museum exhibit together. Premier Li’s wife Cheng Hong and Samaras’ wife Georgia Samaras were also in attendance.

Crete is an important cradle of ancient Greek civilization. The Heraklion Museum has been on the island for over 100 years. The cultural relics on display represent Crete’s 7,000 years of civilization and history. It took about seven years to reconstruct the museum, and is now opened to the public once again.

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