On December 26th, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the opening of the China-Laos railway, the opening ceremony of the First China-Laos International Transport Development Forum (the First C-L ITD Forum), hosted by Kunming University of Science and Technology (KUST) and Souphanouvong University (SU), was held simultaneously online and offline in Kunming, China, and Luang Prabang, Laos. The forum will last until December 28th. Twelve invited institutions attended the venue in Luang Prabang, Laos, including the Vientiane Representative Office of Yunnan Commerce, Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., Lao Luang Prabang Transportation Department, etc. Nine invited institutions attended the venue in Kunming, including the Department of Transport of Yunnan Province, the Department of Commerce of Yunnan Province, the Department of Education of Yunnan Province, China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd., Yunnan International Railway Service and Trading Co., Ltd., etc.
With the theme of “Celebrating the Anniversary of China-Laos Railway and Promoting Happiness and Friendship between China and Laos”, the forum was divided into four parts: the opening ceremony, the speeches by experts, the appreciation of the photographic works and essays of “China-Laos Railway in My Eyes”, and the visit to the Confucius Institute at SU.
At the opening ceremony, Yi Jianhong, vice president of KUST, and Soulideth, vice president of SU, delivered speeches on behalf of the organizers. Yi Jianhong said the China-Laos Railway is a landmark project of high-quality construction of The Belt and Road, a flagship project of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Laos, and a bond which witnesses the time-honored friendship between China and Laos and the friendship between the two peoples. The First Cross-border C-L ITD Forum, co-hosted by KUST in China and SU in Laos is one of the concrete actions resulting from the talks between General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith. KUST took this opportunity to give full play to the talent intelligence, scientific and technological innovation advantages in the disciplines of transportation engineering, logistics engineering, food science, and engineering disciplines, through which it helped the industrial development along the China-Laos Railway and contributed to “KUST Wisdom”, “KUST Solution” and “KUST Strength”.
Soulideth said that the China-Laos Railway carries the ardent expectations of the people of both countries and plays a significant role in promoting closer economic, social, and cultural cooperation and exchanges between China and Laos, accelerating the construction of the China-Laos Economic Corridor, and building a community with a shared future between China and Laos. The First C-L ITD Forum, initiated and co-hosted by KUST and SU, is conducive to the comprehensive advantages of both sides in training skilled workers, scientific research, social service, international exchanges, cultural inheritance, and innovation in the rail transit industry. This forum provided a high-quality academic platform for gathering development wisdom and innovative synergy in the field of the rail transit industry at home and abroad, and contributing to the high-quality development of The Belt and Road.
At the forum, experts from China and Laos made academic reports on the following topics: “Yunnan-invested enterprises’ development in Laos”, “Educational cooperation between China and Laos”, “Prospects for China-ASEAN agricultural cooperation”, “Current situation and prospects of Chinese language education in Laos”, “Transport development in Laos”, “Study on the open economy effects of hinterland-port Accessibility”, “ETL information highway: ensuring smooth traffic network between China and Laos”, “Locking the taste of Yunnan with advanced technology”, “Opportunities and challenges of cross-border logistics development in Yunnan Province”, “The role of Confucius Institute at SU in the operation of China-Laos Railway”, and other topics.
Translated by: XIAO Huiyue, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures
Edited by: CHEN Chunli, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Cultures (English)
Source: Faculty of Transportation Engineering, School of International Education, Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Confucius Institute at the University of Souphanouvong
Issued by: Division of International Cooperation (English)
Edited by: KUST News Center (Chinese)
