Confucius Institute re-opens in Afghanistan

KABUL - Confucius Institute of Kabul University re-opened Sunday after a halt of one year and a half since October 2010, marking the enhanced Sino-Afghan cultural exchanges.

Addressing the re-opening ceremony, Xu Feihong, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan, congratulated Confucius Institute on its comeback to this war-hit nation, saying it marks a significant progress in relations between the two nations.

Xu said that the young generation of Afghanistan symbolizes the future and hope of this war-hit country. The friendship between the two nations also needs to be carried forward and passed down by the youths.

"China and Afghanistan are good neighbors, friends, and partners. The exchanges between the two peoples could date back to 2,000 years ago," Xu added, "I wish all the students from Confucius Institute a promising future and could continue helping promote the bilateral ties, since the two governments had upgraded their ties to the level of a strategic and cooperative partnership last year."

Habibullah Habib, president of Kabul University, expressed his gratitude to China's efforts in bringing Confucius Institute back to Afghanistan, saying he felt honored to witness the re-open of this cultural promotion institution in Kabul University.

"China and the Chinese language both play an important role on the international arena," he noted, "I hope the Chinese learners could contribute to the bilateral friendship by learning this language well."

Ma Li, a 19-year-old female student with a Chinese name, told Xinhua that she received family support to learn Chinese language and she hopes to be a proficient speaker after graduation.

Confucius Institute in Kabul University was launched in January 2008 and was halted in October 2010 due to social security concerns.

At the moment, one teacher from China and two other Chinese instructors are teaching the Chinese language to around 100 Afghan learners at elementary levels.