2024 University Alliance of Belt & Road forum highlights digital, green development

China Economic Net

Beijing: The 2024 University Alliance of the Belt and Road forum was inaugurated to highlight digital and green development in Lanzhou University, Gansu Province of China.

Themed under “A International Education Collaboration under the circumstances of Digital Empowerment, Green Innovation and Shared Development”, the forum was attended by nearly 100 experts and scholars from 21 overseas universities and international organizations in 17 countries and regions.

As many as 42 Chinese universities and Secretary General of Alliance also gathered in Lanzhou University to attend the event, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Thursday.

According to Yang Yongping, Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Lanzhou University, since its establishment in 2015, the Alliance has promoted exchanges and cooperation in education, science and technology, and culture among 184 universities from 27 countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

“I hope more high-quality education cooperation platforms and public education products can be built and shared in the Alliance to make the most of the complementary advantages in curricula, faculty, educational information, technology, and infrastructure among the members, providing support for building a community with a shared future for mankind,” he remarked.

“Gansu Province, boasting advantageous geographical position in the Belt and Road, will continuously contribute to the Belt and Road development as a new engine for boosting the progress of higher education in Northwest China”, said Zhang Guozhen, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of Gansu Education Department.

Khalil Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to China, and Peter Levai, Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, expressed their willingness to enhance educational exchanges with members of the Alliance in their speeches at the opening ceremony.

Experts and scholars from universities of 11 countries, including the United States, Canada, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Egypt, shared their views on topics of the prospects for digital education cooperation and the development of international education cooperation mechanisms.

This year, the sixth sub-alliance i.e. the Medical Sub-Alliance was established on the basis of the five sub-alliances of ecology, art, vocational education, etc. Additionally, four universities joined the Alliance as new members and signed MoUs with Lanzhou University.