Serbia's first Confucius Institute celebrates 10th anniversary

The 10th anniversary of the Confucius Institute in Belgrade was celebrated with a ceremony at the Belgrade University followed by a forum on learning Chinese at Serbian elementary and high schools.

The celebration was attended by Chinese Ambassador Li Manchang, Serbian and Chinese professors and students.

Radosav Pusic, a director of the Confucius Institute in Belgrade, said that the institute started at the faculty of philology of the Belgrade University in 2006.

"If we speak of numbers, during these ten years we had a constant increase of students. What is more important, that the interest of our children, and by that I mean kids from kindergartens, elementary schools and high schools, is also increasing," he said.

Pusic added that the institute aims to spread Chinese language as well as to serve as a cultural bridge between the two countries.

In front of Confucius Institute, Pusic handed letters of gratitude to those who gave their contribution to the development of the institute -- Ambassador Li, Belgrade City Library, Qi Gong Association of Serbia, 13th Belgrade High School and Belgrade City Museum.

He also handed awards to winners of the photo and video competition "China in My Eyes."

Li noted in his speech that an increasing number of Serbs learn Chinese and this can be a great result of the work of the Confucius Institute.

"Nowadays I can find Serbian-Chinese translators everywhere, and those are all Serbs," Li said.

"This all shows that all of you gathering here gave a great contribution to advancing friendly relations between China and Serbia," he stressed, concluding that he hopes that more Serbs will learn Chinese language.