A “China Day” Event Held in Iraq’s Erbil Promotes Cultural Exchanges

The Chinese Language Department of Salahaddin University held a “China Day” event on February 14 in Erbil, the capital city of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, to promote cultural exchanges.

Ni Ruchi, China’s consul general in Erbil, attended the event and lauded the role of the department, established in 2019 as Iraq’s first Chinese language institute for higher education, in promoting cultural and educational cooperation.

“Language is a bridge between nations, and we hope Kurdish students can be future economic, cultural, and educational ambassadors,” Ni said at the opening ceremony of the event.

The event kicked off by playing the theme song of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in the presence of local officials, students from the department, Chinese diplomats, and business representatives.

Barzan Jaafar Ali, head of the department, said that by holding this event, “our goal is to establish a bridge between the Chinese and

Kurdish cultures. We are trying to improve the relationship between the two cultures.”

Atif Abdullah Farhadi, dean of the College of Languages to which the Chinese Language Department belongs, said,

“We have a plan to expand the department and enroll more students, and we are planning to organize some special Chinese language courses for business people and traders.”

Hiwa Xoshnaw, a junior student from the Chinese Language Department wearing a Chinese outfit, said that this kind of event “helps our people become more familiar with Chinese culture and language.”