Former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has said that video media can play a pivotal role in fostering cultural exchanges through transcending linguistic and geographical barriers, which will help make diversity an engine driving the advancement of human civilizations.

Sharaf was speaking in a video message to greet the opening of the 12th Global Video Media Forum (VMF) held on Dec 3-4 in Quanzhou City of east China's Fujian Province, under the theme "Intelligence Without Frontiers, Vision Beyond The Horizon -- Media's Role in Communication and Cultural Exchange."

The VMF is an annual professional journalism forum launched by the CCTV Video News Agency (CCTV+) in 2011, focusing on the latest video content communication and innovation trends, and providing a highly specialized, unique and interactive platform for domestic and foreign media peers.