On April 10, local time, the opening ceremony of the 10th Confucius institute of our university -- Confucius Institute of Carthage University was held at the institute of advanced languages of Tunis, Carthage university. The Confucius institute is the first one in Tunisia and also in Africa.
Carl booth, Tunisian minister of higher education and scientific research , Wang Wenbin, Chinese ambassador to Tunisia , Bai Guangming, embassy cultural counselor , Benuda, president of University of Carthage, Liu hong, President of our school, Li fan,director ofinternational exchanges and cooperation, and Confucius institute ,andBen Hammadi,deanof the Tunisian high School, president of Confucius institute and Xurixuanpresident of Confucius institute attended the ceremony.
Minister Carl booth said in his speech that China has developed rapidly in recent years and Tunisia is willing to become its partner in education, science and technology and economy. The opening of the first Confucius institute in Tunisia at the University of Carthage marks a new stage in bilateral cooperation in the field of education. Tunisia is ready to work with China to push forward bilateral exchanges and cooperation in higher education, scientific research and other fields and push bilateral relations for greater development.
In his speech ambassador wang thanked the Tunisian ministry of higher education and the universities of China and Tunisia for their support and efforts in establishing the Confucius institute. He said that the official opening of the first Confucius institute in Tunisia is an important embodiment of the outcome of the BBS Beijing summit on China-Africa cooperation in Tunisia and a vivid example of deepening China-Tunisia friendly cooperation under the framework of "One Belt And One Road". It is believed that the Confucius institute of the university of Carthage will become more and more successful, creating a good platform for the Tunisian people to learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture, and building a bridge of communication between China and Tunisia.
In her speech, Liu Hong, President of the university of Carthage, expressed her gratitude to all parties in China and Tunisia for their efforts and contributions to the establishment of the Confucius institute at the university of Carthage.President liu hong pointed out that Tunisia is located in the Mediterranean Sea, which is the only route of the shipping route between Europe and Asia and Africa, and it is a place where the time-honored civilization and multi-culture are integrated. She hoped that the first Confucius institute in Tunisia could make its own contribution to the integration of different civilizations. The establishment of the Confucius institute will promote the teaching of Chinese in Tunisia and promote the language, education and cultural exchanges between the Chinese and Tunisian people.
Benouda, President of the university of Carthage, thanked all the distinguished guests for attending the opening ceremony and for the efforts made by China and Tunisia for the establishment of the Confucius institute.
At the unveiling ceremony, representatives of students majoring in Chinese at the higher language institute of Tunisia sang the Chinese folk song "jasmine flower" and the Turkish folk song "night under the jasmine tree", performed traditional Chinese dance and recited modern Chinese poetry. The students' fluent Chinese and excellent performance won warm applause.
The ceremony was reported by Tunisian news, leader magazine, state TV, Hannibal TV, Mosaic radio and xinhua news agency, China global television network, China news network, xinhuanet, People's Daily, sina.com, financial information website and China overseas network.
During this period, the second council meeting of Confucius institute was held between our university and the university of Carthage. The council listened to the annual work report and work plan of the Chinese and foreign presidents, affirmed the achievements of Confucius institutes, made guiding opinions on the future work, and proposed solutions to the existing important problems.
The successful opening of the Confucius institute of the university of Carthage is another important achievement of our international education and international promotion of Chinese language. At present, our university has undertaken 10 overseas Confucius institutes, ranking the first among provincial universities in number and the fifth among national universities. It has been rated as the advanced Chinese cooperative institution of Confucius institutes four times by Confucius institute headquarters. The establishment of the Confucius institute at the university of Carthage will certainly play an important role in promoting exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and Tunisian civilizations, enhancing friendship between the two peoples and promoting educational exchanges and cooperation between the university of Carthage and our university. (xu rixuan)
