The awarding ceremony of the painting contest on the topic of "Friendship and future", which was devoted to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Azerbaijan, and a mobile exhibition took place at the administrative building of AZERTAC on 27 May.

The event was organized by the embassy of China in Azerbaijan, AZERTAC and the Confucius Institute under Baku State University.

First, teachers of the Confucius Institute and Azerbaijani students demonstrated the tea art and traditional dance of China. The charge d'affaires of the embassy of China in Azerbaijan, Ding Tao, spoke to congratulate all the award winners. He thanked AZERTAC and the Confucius Institute under Baku State University for their support in the organization of the event.

Ding Tao said that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Azerbaijan. The Chinese-Azerbaijani relations have passed the test of the time and the constantly changing international situation, mutual political trust has been continuously strengthened, practical cooperation has produced efficient results and traditional friendship has become even stronger over the past period. China and Azerbaijan always expand the directions of national development, the One Belt One Road is being constructed and cooperation is deepening in such different fields as economy, trade, transport, energy, education, culture and art under the personal attention and strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries. Close exchanges are made between the governments, universities, think tanks, media, poetic and art groups of the two countries.

He said that 53 universities, secondary and primary schools and more than 100 people from all the strata of the society took an active part in the contest. The youngest of them is 7 and the oldest is 53.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Chairman of the Board of AZERTAC, Aslan Aslanov, said that being the countries on the Great Silk Road and having rich cultural heritage, Azerbaijan and China have been developing these ties for centuries and passing them to future generations. The common values that unite them are the calls of the man of the East for global peace, peaceful co-existence and joint development. Our ties, which are based on deep roots, are being successfully developed today by the heads of our countries.

Speaking about efficient cooperation in the field of information, Aslan Aslanov said that AZERTAC has been cooperating with China’s Xinhua news agency for many years. We have implemented many joint projects that serve to make our peoples closer and learn each other’s cultures deeply, he said. Xinhua and AZERTAC always support each other within the framework of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies. We have also implemented a lot of joint projects with China Daily newspaper, which has more than 300 million subscribers, and this newspaper regularly carries out news of AZERTAC. Our agency has been cooperating with the Confucius Institute for 8 years now. Every year, Chinese language courses are organized for AZERTAC staff, Aslan Aslanov said.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Vice-Rector of Baku State University, Shahin Panahov, said that the Confucius Institute, which operates within the framework of cooperation with Anhui University of China, contributes to expanding relations between the two supreme education facilities and acts as a platform and a bridge that serve the society of Azerbaijan. The Confucius Institute regularly organizes such different events as training courses, contests and master classes. The purpose of conducting the painting contest on the topic of “Friendship and future” is to support the development of the relations of friendship between our countries and peoples.

The Chairman of the Department of Far East Languages and Literature of the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Baku State University, the foreign director of the Confucius Institute, Ogtay Jalilbayli, said that the Azerbaijani-Chinese relations always develop smoothly and dynamically. He noted that the Confucius Institute under Baku State University is indeed a bridge of education, science and culture between our countries today. This institute now has 11 branches in Azerbaijan. Among them, AZERTAC is distinguished with its active work.

Then, some of the winners spoke to thank the organizers of the contest.

At the end of the ceremony, awards were presented to the winners and a tour of the exhibition was taken.