Advertisement - FAISALABAD, Mar 26 (APP):The Xinjiang Agriculture University of China and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) will collaborate to strengthen academia and research ties further and address common challenges. This was stated during the 11th Board of Directors meeting of Chinese Confucius Institute (CI) which was chaired by University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali while Prof Dr Jiang Ping’an President of Xinjiang Agriculture University China presided over it online. Prof Dr Jiang Ping’an invited a team of the UAF experts to visit Xinjiang Agriculture University China that will help in learning from each other experiences and foster ties. He said that collaboration between our two universities serves as a tangible manifestation of the amicable relationship. Eleven years ago, we signed an agreement to jointly establish the Confucius Institute at UAF. He said that over the past 11 years, CI-UAF has made fruitful achievements in Chinese culture promotion, language teaching, academic cooperation, and teacher-student exchanges. He congratulated Dr Zulfiqar Ali on assuming the charge of Vice Chancellor UAF. Dr Zulfiqar Ali said that Confucius Institute has played role in fostering mutual understanding and respect through the promotion of Chinese language and culture. This institute has also contributed to deepening the Pak-China relationship in the ways that go beyond academics, he added. He said that CI UAF has produced 22,000 students of Chinese language courses in a decade. Out of which, 600 are studying in Chinese universities under scholarship programs. CI Local Dean Dr Zahir Ahmad Zahir said that in 2024, CI-UAF administered 11 HSK/HSKK exams across its testing centers, with a total of 1,882 candidates including 447 oral test takers. He said that in 2024, CI-UAF recommended 104 candidates for international Chinese language scholarships. He shared that in expansion, CI-UAF will establish sub-centers at the University of Faisalabad, Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (Bahawalpur), and Ghazi University (Dera Ghazi Khan). UAF Registrar Umar Saeed Qadri, Director ORIC Prof. Dr Imran Arshad, Director Planning and Development Mr. Irfan Abbas and Deputy Treasurer Mr. Faisal Shahzad attended the meeting from UAF while Director International Exchange XJAU Yang Zhijiang, Chinese Dean Prof Zhou Changming, Dean International Education Prof Chen Yingjie attended it online from XJAU. Since its inception in 2014, CI has produced thousands of the students skilled in Chinese language, helping further strengthening ties and people to people contact between the countries, UAF spokesman added.