On October 14th, during his visit to Bangladesh, Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, dedicated the Confucius Institute at the University of Dhaka.
The Confucius Institute, the second of its kind in Bangladesh, was jointly established by the University of Dhaka and Yunnan University. Its opening marked a new high-water mark in relations between the two countries. According to official statistics, more than 100,000 Chinese people currently work in this important country on the Belt and Road, and a growing number of Bangladeshi people are now studying the Chinese language.
As early as 2006, Yunnan University collaborated with the North-South University of Bangladesh in establishing a Confucius Institute. After ten years of development, the organization has extended its teaching points to many areas, reaching more than 100,000 students ranging from primary school age to adults.
The newly established Confucius Institute at the University of Dhaka will chart its own destiny. “The Confucius Institute focuses on teaching the Chinese language as well as the promotion of Chinese culture. Now, however, we hope to recruit Bangladeshi students, and carry out country-based research that serves to promote Yunnan-Bangladesh economic and cultural exchanges,” said Wu Yun, director of the Confucius Institute’s general affairs office, Yunnan University.
In fact, the Confucius Institute has already begun its efforts to transform. In collaboration with the Institute of Modern Languages at the University of Dhaka, the learning institution has set up the first Chinese language undergraduate programme in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the University of Dhaka and the Confucius Institute Headquarters are planning to set up both undergraduate and master’s degree programmes for Chinese language education. When completed, it will be the first of its kind in the country.