H.E. Mohamed Al-Dehaimi, Ambassador of the State of Qatar, met freshmen of Department of Arabic and Culture, School of Foreign Languages at Peking University, on his visit to PKU on April 2, 2021.

Half semeter has past since PKU students' visit to the Embassy of the State of Qatar, though, Mr. Al-Dehaimi still clearly remembered the Arabic names of every student. He extended best regards to students and heard their gains in learning the Arabic language. Mr. Ambassador was impressed by the great advancement students has made in their study over the past several months. He recalled the unforgettable moment when he first met with these loveable students, who were only able to exchange simple greetings with each other at that time. Surprisingly, these students can smoothly communicate with him and shared what they learned in their Arabic courses only after several months of study. Mr. Al-Dehaimi and his colleagues from Qatar Embassy were welcomed by warm applaud of PKU teachers and students when they entered the audio-visual classroom.

Mr. Al-Dehaimi talked with students of Arabic Department

Wang Xinyi, on behalf of the freshmen of Arabic Department, gave a welcome speech to Mr. Ambassador and his colleagues. She extended in Arabic great welcome and sincere gratitude to Mr. Ambassador and Counsellor of the Embassy, and the hope of her classmates to complete their further studies in Qatar and to watch the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup. Wang thanked Mr. Ambassador for the opportunities he provided to PKU students to gain fantastic personal experience of Arab civilization. Students of Arabic Departments have unswervingly belief to master the Arab language and work hard to bridge China and the Qatar. Later, freshmen sung a Arabic song named Heartbeat with Syrian dialect. Though still inexpert in Syrian pronounciations, PKU students were praised by Mr. Ambassador and encouraged by him to learn more Arabic artistic works.   

Li Ruiheng, Ph.D. candidate of Arabic Department, entailed the interpretation work of this meeting. Mr. Ambassador felt surprised at the huge progress these undergraduates has made in learning Arabic. Based on this, he said, he was sure that these students can overcome the hardship in the Arabic study by unremitting efforts, and thus gaining a full picture of the glamour and mistories of the Arabic language.

Mr. Al-Dehaimi sincerely invited PKU students to visit the Qatar Embassy for the second time, where they can applied what they learned in the Arab classes. Going forward, Mr. Al-Dehaimi hoped that students from the PKU Department of Arab could act as a bridge to promote dialogue between youths and boost cultural exchanges between two countries. Finally, Mr. Ambassador said humourously that the tickets for the students’ next visit to the Embassy will be their higher levels of proficiency in Arabic. He is looking forward to deeper exchanges of views with PKU students in the Arabic language and culture.

A group photo of Mr. Al-Dehaimi and students from Arabic Department

At the end of the meeting, Xu Zhengzhe, monitor of the freshman class, gave Mr. Ambassador a gift that represents the best wishes and thanks of the teachers and students of Arabic Department. A group photo of all presented the meeting was taken in memory of this great moment that witnessed the flower of China-Qatar friendship blossoming out.

Students presented Mr. Al-Dehaimi a PKU-themed shirt as a gift