On the morning of September 28, Abdul Hassani, former Minister of Information of the Sultanate of Oman led a delegation of Omani friendly individuals to visit Shanghai International Studies University (SISU). Jiang Feng, chair of the University Council, and Li Yansong, president of SISU, met with the delegation. Also present during the visit were Khalid Al Saeedi, chairman of the Executive Committee of Oman-China Friendship Association (OCFA), Mushtaq Al-Saleh, former Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to China, Hatim Al Tai, CEO and editor-in-chief of Al Roya, and Liu Yingdong, president of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification in Oman.
Jiang welcomed the visit of the delegation on the occasion of the establishment of the 45th anniversary of China-Oman diplomatic relations, and extended his gratitude to Li Lingbing, an outstanding alumna of SISU and Chinese Ambassador to Oman, for facilitating the visit. He emphasized that SISU was committed to building a world-class university of international studies with distinctive features of global knowledge in Country and Area Studies, and was an important center for Arab studies and Middle East studies in Chinese universities. He expected that SISU would conduct all-round concrete cooperation with Omani universities and think tanks in the future, such as cooperating with Omani Universities to hold seminars on the Maritime Silk Road, making contributions to carrying forward the China-Oman traditional friendship, and promoting cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and Oman civilizations in the academic field.
During the meeting, Li introduced the latest developments in the fields of SISU’s talent cultivation, and disciplinary construction, discussed inter-university cooperation and exchanges with Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. Li also made concrete proposals for future cooperation with institutes, such as the Omani government, OCFA, and local media.
Hassani shared his thoughts on his participation in the 4th China-Arab Reform and Development Research Forum, believing that currently China and Oman have formed a good interactive relationship and should continue to expand bilateral exchanges in the future. He stated that the cooperation between Chinese and Omani universities can not only promote the talents cultivation and academic research of both sides, but also enhance the economic and trade exchanges and deepen the friendship between China and Oman.
Al Saeed said that there are similarities between Chinese and Omani civilizations, and China-Oman traditional friendship was the foundation for the development of their relations. Oman always sought to strengthen its connection with China and was also willing to promote other Arabian countries to establish friendly relations with China. OCFA was ready to make contributions and would actively coordinate arrangements for the cooperation in organizing the “Symposium on the Maritime Silk Road”.
The delegation also visited the Middle East Studies Institute (MESI).
The officials of the China-Arab Research Center on Reform and Development, MESI, the School of Asian and African Studies, the Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation, and the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, attended the meeting.
