BEIJING: Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah distributed the King Abdullah International Prize for Translation during a ceremony here Tuesday and said Saudi Arabia was looking forward to strengthening its political, cultural and economic ties with China.

“The holding of the prize distribution ceremony in Beijing will lead to taking the Arab culture to China and Chinese culture to Arabs,” the prince said.

“King Abdullah Prize has gained international reputation with the participation of globally-renowned universities and translators.”

The award for translation in natural sciences from other languages to Arabic was shared by Muhammad Alzughaibi (for his translation of Linda Costanzo's physiology from English to Arabic), Abdullah Alghasham and Yusuf Barakat (for their translation of Martin Eastwood's Principles of Human Nutrition).

George Zeenati (for his translation of Paul Ricoueur's Memoire, L'histoire, et L'oublie [Memory, History, Forgetting]) and Muhammad Badawi (for his translation of Clifford Geertz's The Interpretation of Cultures) shared the prize for translation in humanities from other languages to Arabic.

The award in the field of translating humanities from Arabic to other languages was shared by Franz Chop (for his translation of Averroes' Fasl al-Maqal [Legality of Philosophical Investigation Under Islamic Law] into German) and Yolanda Joradi and Hussein Bin Sheenah for their translation of Ahmed Almuradi's Kitab-Ulasrar (Book of Secrets).

Chinese translator Chong Jee Kong and Muhammad Enani, an Egyptian who holds a Ph.D. in English, were also honored during the event for their contributions to translation. The jury has withheld the award for translation in natural sciences from Arabic to other languages due to a lack of applicants.

Prince Abdul Aziz, who arrived in Beijing on Monday, met with Vice President of the Political Consulting Council Wan Qin. The meeting was attended by Saudi Ambassador to China Yahya Al-Zaid.

Prince Abdul Aziz also held talks with Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi. Welcoming the prince, Wang congratulated the Kingdom on the distribution of the King Abdullah Prize in Beijing.

Wang emphasized the importance of the award, saying it would serve as a bridge between cultures and promote dialogue between people. He commended King Abdullah for taking the initiative to promote interfaith dialogue.

In a related development, Deputy Education Minister Faisal bin Muammar opened a forum at the University of Beijing on Tuesday on the role of translation in boosting cultural exchange between countries.

He hoped that the forum would strengthen cooperation between the university and King Abdul Aziz Public Library, especially in the area of translation. He underscored the desire of Arabs and Chinese to strengthen their relations.