On the March 24th, the Opening Ceremony of the Iran Center at GDUFS was held on the south campus of GDUFS. This center was established to help the teachers and the students in our university to better understand Iranian culture. And it was supported by the consulate. FANG Fanquan, Vice President of GDUFS, and Alireza Salarian, Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, attended the Opening Ceremony. They celebrated Iran’s New Year and enjoyed some delicious Iranian food together.

FANG speaking

FANG said that China and Iran have been in frequent contact since the exploration of the Silk Road. Now, China is Iran’s largest trading partner. And Iran also plays a very important role in China’s “One Belt And One Road” initiative. As a university with many distinctive international characteristics, GUDFS has responded positively to the call of the government in recent years. Our university has developed degree programmes in the languages of countries involved in the “One Belt And One Road” initiative. And GDUFS is now actively preparing for declaring the Iranian major to the Ministry of Education. FANG also hoped that setting up the Iran Center would promote the development of the Iranian major at GDUFS in the future.

Alireza Salarian speaking

Alireza Salarian also spoke highly of the Sino-Iranian relationship. In his speech, he said that Guangdong Province has signed a friendly province agreement with three Iranian provinces. And Guangzhou, as a major Chinese city, has always been an important bridge for the Iranian businessman to enter into the Chinese market. He mentioned that Iran and China were willing to promote the cooperation in terms of economics, trade, tourism and other fields, which is shown by the signing of MOU with GDUFS and the establishing of the Iran Center at this university. Culture is the best bridge between two countries. Alireza Salarian expressed that he hoped the setting-up of the Iran Center will enhance mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples.

Ribbon cutting ceremony

Both parties attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Iran Center and they visited the Iran Center. The floor of this center was covered with luxurious Persian rugs. There was many wonderful food containing Iran flavors on the table. Many books and documents were displayed on the bookshelves. That day happened to be Iran’s New Year. Both parties merrily gathered and enjoyed Iran’s food. And they all had a brilliant time.

Visiting Iran Center