On January 11, an event was held in Dalian, Liaoning Province, to mark the launch of the Belarus’ Year of Education. The gathering was attended by the Vice Minister of Education Tian Xuejun, the Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province Li Jinke, the Minister of Education of Belarus Igor Karpenko and the Ambassador of Belarus to China Kiryl Rudy.

In his speech, Tian said that under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, China-Belarus relations had helped build greater mutual trust grounded in win-win cooperation, and foster a comprehensive strategic partnership. Recent years had seen remarkable progress in the two countries’ educational cooperation. 2019 will be the Belarus’ Year of Education and as such, both parties pledged to expand exchange and cooperation in education.

During the launch, an inauguration ceremony was also held to open the Belarusian Research Centre of Dalian University of Technology, and a memorandum of understanding for youth exchange programs was signed by both Ministries of Education, while Chinese and Belarusian educational institutions concluded seven new cooperation agreements.

The next step will be to carry out a series of activities in the light of the Work Plan for the Belarus’ Year of Education 2019, including institution building, publicity campaigns, training, contests, seminars and youth exchanges.