On April 30, 2015, Ali Asghar Khaji, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to China visited Peking University (PKU). His delegation included Abolfazl Olamaei, counselor, and Amin Bazrafshan, translator. They were received by Lin Jianhua, President of PKU, Li Shujing, Deputy Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, and Shi Guang, Dean of the Department of West Asian Languages and Cultures.
President Lin first extended a warm welcome to Ali Asghar Khaji and mentioned his first visit to Iran in 2010, in which he was greatly impressed with Iran, a country he says has a long history and splendid civilization.
Ali Asghar Khaji then expressed his hope to push for better development of bilateral relations during his time in China. He said that both sides have encouraged intercultural communication with the establishment of a Confucius Institute in Iran and the creation of the Persian major at PKU. He continued to explain that further communication through exchange programs and research programs is of great importance, especially when China and Iran are facing new opportunities with the rapid development of the One Belt, One Road initiative.
Afterwards, President Lin praised the high-level education of Iran and invited students and scholars from Iran to come to China. Regarding this prospect, President Lin expressed his hope for continued assistance from the Iranian Embassy.
Towards the end of the meeting, both sides came to an agreement on the establishment of an institute to research the Silk Road and to further deepen the collaboration between PKU and the University of Tehran. After the meeting, both sides exchanged souvenirs and took photos.
Written by Liu Meina
