TUNIS -- "It gives me joy, hope and growth. I'm so proud to be part of the BeiDou family," said Nada Laabidi, manager of the China-Arab States BDS/GNSS Center in the Tunisian capital of Tunis.

A project manager of the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization (AICTO), Laabidi has been working part-time at the center for a year. But her passion for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has become so intense that she is determined to study in China to attain a degree in satellite navigation.

This is because she, like many other people in the Arab world, sees the huge potential and opportunities provided by the growing space cooperation between China and the Arab states. The two sides are jointly building a "Space Silk Road" led by the BDS application within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China in 2013.