The sixth annual conference of the Taihu World Cultural Forum was held in the Ancient Dwelling Expo Park, Bengbu, Anhui Province from Oct. 11 to 13. Wang Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, attended the opening ceremony and made a keynote speech. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev sent congradulatory letters to the forum. Former Italian Prime Minister and Honorary President of the forum, Romano Prodi made a video speech at the opening ceremony. French Constitutional Council President Laurent Fabius, former Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio, former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf made speeches at theme forums. President Wang Chao of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) attended the opening ceremony. Vice President Li Huilai of CPIFA attended the opening ceremony and  relevant activities.

The forum, a high-end, unofficial platform founded in China in 2008 for international cultural exchanges, has previously held five annual conferences in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Macao and Beijing. This year’s conference is sponsored by Taihu World Cultral Forum and co-sponsored by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the people’s government of Anhui Province, CPIFA, China Daily, Azerbaijani Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Italian Global Cooperation Foundation. Azerbaijan assumes as the guest country. Themed “Mutual learning among civilizations: Jointly building a community of a shared future for humanity”, the conference contains six theme forums and four dialogues. About 500 delegates from more than 30 countries and regions attended the conference online and offline.