On September 20th, Xinhua News Agency reported that the unveiling ceremony of the third Confucius Institute in Serbia, the Confucius Institute of Ni š University, was held in the southeastern city of Ni š.
The Confucius Institute at Nis University, jointly established by Nis University in Serbia and Jiangsu University in China, will provide a platform for people in southern Serbia to learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture. More than a hundred people, including Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming and representatives from the Serbian government and universities in China and Serbia, attended the unveiling ceremony.
Li Ming said in his speech that the establishment of the Confucius Institute at Nish University provides a new platform for educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries and a new channel for mutual understanding between the two peoples. The Confucius Institutes at Novi Sad University, Belgrade University, and Ni š University have formed a development pattern of comprehensive coverage of Chinese education in the north, center, and south of Serbia, making Serbia the country with the largest number of Confucius Institutes in the Western Balkans.
The President of Ni š University, Antich, highly praised the significance of Confucius Institutes in strengthening cooperation between educational institutions in Serbia and China in his speech. He said that the establishment of the Confucius Institute at Ni š University will strengthen the connection between Ni š University and Chinese universities.
In a video speech, Xing Weihong, President of Jiangsu University, said that the establishment of the Confucius Institute by Jiangsu University and Ni š University has initiated cooperation between the two universities in the field of international Chinese education, laying the foundation for future cooperation in talent cultivation, scientific research, and other areas. I hope that the Confucius Institute at Ni š University can closely focus on the goal of building a distinctive Confucius Institute that applies learning to serve the Chinese learning needs of Ni š and surrounding areas, promote joint talent training between Ni š University and local Chinese enterprises, and enhance mutual understanding and friendship between Chinese and Serbian people.
Jovanovic, the Serbian director of the Confucius Institute at Ni š University, said in his speech that this is the third Confucius Institute in Serbia and the first Confucius Institute in southern Serbia. While promoting economic cooperation, our goal is to promote the Chinese language and culture
On that day, Li Ming, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Serbia, presented over 1600 sets of Chinese learning materials and nearly 700 boxes of electronic textbooks to the Confucius Institute at Ni š University. The attending guests also witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding between the Confucius Institute at Ni š University and Chinese enterprises.