Mdm. Liu Yandong attends the foundation stone laying ceremony for the building of the Confucius Institute at Cairo University, Egypt

On the afternoon of March 26th, Mdm. Liu Yandong, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China, and her entourage visited Cairo University, where hundreds of students from the Confucius Institute at Cairo University, holding flowers and Chinese and Egyptian national flags in their hands while dancing and singing joyously, welcomed Mdm. Liu and greeted her in fluent Chinese. Students dressed in Egyptian folk costumes presented a bouquet of flowers to Mdm. Liu.

Accompanied by Ashraf Shihi, Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Professor Dr. Gaber Gad Nassar, President of Cairo University as well as Egyptian government officials and university presidents, Mdm. Liu visited the “Photo Exhibition on Achievements of Confucius Institutes in Egypt”. During the exhibition, Rehab Mahmoud, Director of the Confucius Institute at Cairo University, explained to Mdm. Liu the development of Chinese language education in Egypt, achievements by the Confucius Institute in the past several years, the design for the new building of the Confucius Institute, as well as plans for key projects of the Confucius Institute in 2016. On her part, Mdm. Liu Yandong commended the accomplishments in the development of the Confucius Institute at Cairo University.

Mdm. Liu delivered a warm speech at the foundation stone laying ceremony. According to Mdm. Liu, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt and the two countries have always been good friends, brothers and partners. At the beginning of this year, President Xi Jinping conducted a successful visit to Egypt and reached wide-ranging agreements with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, deciding to jointly hold the China-Egypt Cultural Year, hence putting the comprehensive strategic partnership onto a fast track.

Mdm. Liu also emphasized that language is a bridge to connect hearts and a key to cultural exchange and mutual learning, and Confucius Institutes are an important platform to connect China and the rest of the world. Since its establishment eight years ago, the Confucius Institute at Cairo University has offered Chinese language teaching for learners at different levels and organized various events of cultural exchanges. With a total of over 3,000 registered students, it offers its services to practical cooperation between China and Egypt on all fronts and has become one of the best Confucius Institutes in Arab countries. She also expressed her hopes that more joint efforts should be made by Cairo University and Peking University to ensure the Confucius Institute a better future so as to make greater contributions to deepening cultural and people-to-people exchanges and enhancing friendship between the two peoples. The guests present responded to Mdm. Liu’s speech with many rounds of warm applause.

Mdm. Liu Yandong, Minister Ashraf Shihi, Professor Dr. Gaber Gad Nassar, and Zhu Shanlu, Chairman of the University Council at Peking University, jointly laying bricks for the building of the Confucius Institute at Cairo University

The foundation stone laying ceremony for the building of the Confucius Institute at Cairo University attracted wide attention from the Egyptian press, and reporters from around 20 mainstream media outlets including Egyptian State TV, Al-Ahram and Nile TV attended and covered this event.