BEIJING, February 27 (People’s Daily, by Chen Shangwen) -- On February 24th, Institute of Silk Road Strategy Studies of Shanghai International Studies University (ISRSS) and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) held a roundtable on the construction of China-ICESCO Silk Road Academic Community in Shanghai, during which the Memorandum of Cooperation between ISRSS and ICESCO was signed online. It was the first formal cooperation agreement signed between ICESCO and an academic institution in China, aiming to deepen the partnership between China and Islamic countries.
During the conference, Wu Sike, former Chinese ambassador to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, said that as two ancient civilizations of great influence in the world, China and the Islamic world have embarked on a path of friendly relations and win-win cooperation between different civilizations through practical collaborations, providing a model of a new type of international relations featuring solidarity, mutual assistance and common development.
Yang Jiemian, chairman of the Academic Advisory Council of Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS), believed that China and the Islamic world should take the initiative in participating in global development through mutual cooperation. The two sides should create the future by seizing the moment, reduce detours by taking the correct path of development, and seek theoretical innovation with historic responsibility in mind, thus together advancing the construction of the Silk Road Academic Community.
Salim M. AlMalik, director general of ICESCO, pointed out in his address that trust and cooperation are the keys to achieving harmony and peace. He believed that the signing of the cooperation agreement will set an example for cultural and educational exchanges between the Islamic world and China. He also looked forward to initiating down-to-earth and friendly cooperation between both sides through cultivating young talents and promoting digital innovation.
Jiang Feng, university council chair, said that Chinese universities represented by SISU have two missions to fulfill: one is to prepare future global talents with linguistic fluency, cultural awareness and professional expertise who tell Chinese stories, spread Chinese voices, and contribute Chinese wisdom to the world; the other is to promote dialogues among global civilizations through academic cooperation with research institutions in various countries, thus building an academic community with a shared future.
On the same day, Ma Lirong, director of ISRSS and chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Research Center of the Ministry of Education, and Amira, director of the Sector of Partnership and International Cooperation of ICESCO, signed the memorandum of cooperation as representatives of China and the Islamic world respectively.
Both sides advocated promoting sustainable civilization dialogues between China and different countries in the Islamic world through cultural exchanges and mutual learning, and encouraged the communication and two-way exchanges of interdisciplinary teaching and research between relevant well-known institutions and organizations in China and Islamic countries. Future cooperation will mainly involves six aspects, including setting up Chair Professors of the ICESCO-ISRSS Silk Roadology, jointly holding roving exhibitions on China-Islam Silk Road Heritage, youth forums and workshops, organizing flagship events for civilization dialogues such as International Forum on Silk Roadology, enhancing digital transformation and cooperation in education, science and culture, and promoting joint publication on Silk Road studies and the development of relevant journals.
