NICOSIA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in higher education and scientific research, Cyprus' education ministry and the Chinese Embassy said in separate statements on Friday.
The MoU, which will run from 2022 until 2026, was signed on Friday during a ceremony here between Cyprus' Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou and the Chinese Ambassador to Cyprus Liu Yantao on behalf of China's Ministry of Education.
The MoU covers several areas of cooperation, which include government scholarships, exchanges among higher education institutions, language teaching and research, mutual recognition of academic degrees and online education.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Liu said that since the first signing of the two countries' cooperation agreement on higher education and scientific research in 2012, such cooperation has grown rapidly and yielded fruitful results, with many colleges and universities in the two countries actively collaborating in joint education, joint scientific research, and student exchange.
Prodromou said that the signing of the MoU is actual proof of the decisiveness of both sides to strengthen educational cooperation.
"The ministry of education hopes that the further strengthening of cooperation in its areas of competence with the ministry of education of the People's Republic of China as well as with other bodies of higher education will bring common benefits to the two states," Prodromou said. ■