Students from Confucius Institute perform during the 5th anniversary celebration of Confucius Institute at Kathmandu University in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 16, 2012. Confucius Institute was established at Kathmandu University in 2007, aiming to teach Chinese and exchange culture in Nepal. (Photo: Xinhua)
Confucius Institute at the Kathmandu University (CIKU) celebrated here its 5th anniversary amidst a special program on Monday.
The program with various presentations reflecting the Chinese culture performed by Nepali students of CIKU.
Addressing the function, Minister for Education Dinanath Sharma congratulated the Institute for its successful operation after its establishment in 2007 while shedding light on the various aspects of significance the institute has maintained in developing a people-people relations between Nepal and China.
He also expressed his regards towards the institution for developing a strong foundation for cultural exchange between the two neighboring countries and also benefiting more than 4000 Nepali students by developing their Chinese language skills.
Likewise, Vice-Chancellor of Kathmandu Univeristy (KCU) Suresh Rai Sharma highlighted the importance of Confucius in the Asian civilization.
"CIKU has made great efforts by trying to animate the philosophies and wisdom of Confucius through their commitment to spread it amongst the people through communication," Sharma said.
Vice-President of Hebei University of Economics and Business Chen Liang spoke about the history of CIKU in Nepal.
Stating that CIKU has been playing an essential role in cultural exchanges and people to people relations by bridging the language barrier, Liang said that Nepalese people have been showing immense enthusiasm to learn the language as a result of which Chinese language has been included in the curriculum of many colleges in Nepal.
Ambassador of China to Nepal Yang Houlan said that CIKU has set up a bridge of language, culture and friendship between the people of two countries.
"Learning Chinese language is the most direct and effective way to know more about the modern China and the CI provides the medium of mutual communication and understanding," Houlan said.
