On December 20th, the Republic of Belarus established its fourth Confucius Institute in Gomel, a city in the south of Belarus. It is also the first Confucius Institute established outside Minsk, the country’s capital city.
This institute is co-organized by Francisk Skorina Gomel State University and Nanjing University of Science and Technology. Sergei Khakhomov, Rector of Francisk Skorina Gomel State University, said in his speech at the opening ceremony that the newly-established Confucius Institute serves to teach Chinese language and to train talents of Chinese studies, which will contribute to strengthening the development of friendship between China and Belarus.
Fu Mengyin, President of Nanjing University of Science and Technologies, who unveiled the nameplate for the Confucius Institute, said that culture is the bridge connecting our people while language serves as the bond for communications between them. Upon the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Belarus, a new Confucius Institute co-built by the two sides conforms to the great trend of building a comprehensive strategic partnership featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit and win-win results between China and Belarus.
In November, 2006, Anatoly Tozik, then Ambassador of Belarus to China, signed a cooperation agreement on Chinese teaching with the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) on behalf of Belarus. From then on, with the help and support of the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and relevant universities, some universities in Belarus have successively set up three Confucius Institutes and a Confucius Classroom in Minsk, putting great efforts into teaching Chinese-language, training sinology talents, and spreading Chinese culture. (cited from Confucius Institute Headquarters, source: xinhuanet.com, Story by Wei Zhongjie and Li Jia)
