Romanian PM attends opening of Confucius Institute in Bucharest

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Friday attended the opening of the Confucius Institute in Bucharest, an organization created by the Bucharest University in partnership with the Beijing University of Political and Law Studies. "Today's opening is related to a highly important event in the history of relations between Romania and China that will occur on Monday with the visit to Romania of the Chinese prime minister," said Ponta at the opening. The prime minister voiced hope that the institute will have as many students as possible interested in learning Chinese, wishing the members of the institute good luck. Chinese Ambassador Huo Yuzhen told the ceremony that there are currently over 400 Confucius Institutes and more than 600 Confucius Classrooms in the world, and China is willing to conduct cultural exchanges with other countries. The Confucius Institute in Bucharest is the fourth of its kind in Romania, the network already including centers in Sibiu, Cluj and Brasov. The prime minister and the ambassador unveiled the Confucius Institute plaque. Joining Ponta and Huo in the opening ceremony were also Romania's Education Minister Remus Pricopie, Chancellor of the Bucharest University Mircea Dumitru as well as Chancellor of the Beijing University of Political and Law Studies Huang Jin. The Confucius Institute was established under a cooperation agreement of March 2013 between the Bucharest University and the Hanban, the general headquarters of the Confucius institutes. The institute will be a platform for the development of cultural ties between Romania and China, for the promotion of the teaching of Chinese in classes for the public at large, as well as for the support of research projects and scientific events.