Foreign and Military Affairs

China to further education co-op with Indonesia

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-29 16:35

JAKARTA - China will further boost cooperation in education with Indonesia, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said here Friday during his two-day visit to the country.

When visiting University of Al Azhar Indonesia in Jakarta, the premier joined students in singing an Indonesian folk song after watching them perform folk dances and reciting an ancient Chinese poem.

While every nation should respect different ethnic groups and religions, these various ethnic groups and religions should also respect each other, Wen said.

He complimented Al Azhar University's teaching mode of integrating Islamic doctrine with modern science, saying that practice had already trained a great number of talents who were capable of "meeting the demands of development."

Wen hoped the university would continue to uphold the spirit of openness and inclusiveness, and further step up cooperation and exchanges with Chinese colleges and universities to boost bilateral cultural exchanges.

The premier said youth in China and Indonesia was the foundation and future of the bilateral friendship and he encouraged the Indonesian students to visit China so that they could see for themselves the real China.

Al Azhar University President Zuhal Abdul Kadir said the university would make further efforts to boost cultural exchanges between the two countries to deepen mutual understanding of the two peoples.

As a partner with a number of Chinese universities, Al Azhar University set up a Chinese language center last year and provides Chinese language and culture courses.

Indonesia is Wen's second and last leg of his Southeast Asia tour, which has already taken him to Malaysia.