On the morning of May 9th, 2023, Hani Findakly, Chairman of International Oversight Committee of the State of Qatar Chair in Middle Eastern Studies at Peking University visited Peking University. Gong Qihuang, the President of Peking University, met with the guest at the Linhu Pavilion.

Gong welcomed Dr. Findakly’s visit to PKU and thanked him for his work in the Middle East research field over the years. He stated that 2023 is Peking University's "International Strategy Year," and the school attaches great importance to exchanges and cooperation with Middle Eastern countries. The Qatar Chair has played an important role in international exchanges and anti-epidemic cooperation between China and Middle Eastern countries in recent years. In the future, Peking University will further strengthen cooperation with universities in Middle Eastern countries in the fields of basic research, technological innovation, and cultural exchange.

 

 

Hani Findakly thanked Gong Qihuang for his warm reception. He stated that since the establishment of the Qatar Chair, Peking University and Qatari universities have conducted fruitful cooperation in many fields. Peking University has excellent academic traditions and disciplinary advantages in the field of Middle Eastern studies. We hope that in the next stage, we can make better use of the platform of Qatar Chair to deepen our research on the Middle East region and make full use of the advantages of Peking University, which is a world-renowned comprehensive university with a wide range of disciplines and talents, to further expand cooperation with universities in the Middle East in various fields such as public health, information science, engineering and technology, and digital humanities.

 

 

Ning Qi, Vice Secretary of the Party Committee, Vice President of PKU, Li Shujing, Secretary of the Party Committee of School of Foreign Languages, Fu Zhiming, Vice Dean of School of Foreign Languages, Wu Bingbing, State of Qatar Chair Professor in Middle Eastern Studies at PKU, Director of Department of Arabic Language and Cultures, SFL-PKU, Li Yun, Director of Office of International Relations, and Zheng Ruqing, Vice Director of OIR attended the meeting.

 

 

Hani Findakly was invited by School of Foreign Languages of PKU to visit Beijing from May 1 to 9. On the morning of May 5, PKU Vice President Ning Qi held a meeting with him to discuss how to continue cooperation on the basis of the Qatar Chair platform.

 

 

On the morning of the 8th, Findakly met and exchanged with undergraduate students from the grade of 2022 from Arabic Department. Findakly expressed his views on China's diplomatic and economic relations with Arab countries in the context of current era, China's investment and exchanges with Arab countries, and the importance of learning Arabic. He encouraged the students to broaden their horizons, use language as a medium, and contribute to future cooperation between China and Arab countries in various fields such as politics, economy, culture and environment.

 

Group photo with the students

 

The students then spoke enthusiastically, asking questions about the relationship between language learning and historical and cultural learning, the impact of the great power game on international relations, and the possible impact of AI on language learning. Findakly gave patient and detailed answers to all the students' questions.

 

Answering students' questions

Fu Zhiming and Wu Bingbing accompanied Findakly during his visit