Senegal's president lays foundation stone for Black Civilization Museum

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade on Tuesday laid the foundation stone in the capital Dakar for the Black Civilization Museum which is funded by China to the tune of 30 million U. S. dollars.

The museum will be constructed besides the Grand National Theatre, which was also constructed by China and inaugurated in April.

The design of the museum was made by the Beijing Institute of Architecture and the construction work will be done by Shanghai Construction Group within 28 months.

"This building, just like all others within the Cultural Park will not be considered as a Senegalese monument, but an African monument," Wade said.

While thanking China, the Senegalese president said the museum will be used for the conservation of cultural values of the black people and for the presentation of Africa to the world.

The Chinese ambassador to Senegal, Gong Yuanxing, hailed the good cooperative relations between his country and Senegal since the resumption of diplomatic ties in October 2005, stressing the need to increase cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The museum is one of the elements of the Cultural Park which President Wade refers to as one of the "Seven Wonders."

The six other buildings are the Grand National Theater, the Contemporary Art Museum, the National Library combined with the National Archives, the School of Beautiful Arts, the School of Architecture and the Music Palace.