Participants pose for a photo during the opening ceremony of the first Confucius Institute in Venezuela, at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV) in Caracas, Venezuela, on Dec. 16, 2016. (Xinhua/Boris Vergara)
CARACAS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The opening of the first Confucius Institute in Venezuela on Friday at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV) in Caracas will strengthen China-Venezuela ties.
Ricardo Menendez, Vice-President for Planning and Knowledge, hailed the institute as being a "service of brotherhood" at the opening ceremony.
"The inauguration of this Confucius Institute has long been awaited. Over 200 people are pre-registered for the first training courses here," Menendez said to the guests, including the Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Zhao Bentang.
Three more Confucius Institutes are set to open in the South American country in the first half of 2017, Menendez added.
"The Venezuelan people have a new window from which to look at China. There is a new bridge to deepen the friendship between China and Venezuela," said Zhao, who spoke after Menendez.
"We invite all Venezuelan people to learn the Chinese language here in the Confucius Institute," added the diplomat.
Director of the institute, Andreina Bermudez Di Lorenzo, told Xinhua that it is "an honor for UBV to receive the first Confucius Institute in Venezuela ...as a bridge to strengthen the inter-cultural strategies between two peoples."
She said that 209 students had signed up in the pre-registration phase and the institute would offer 11 Chinese language classes, nine at the beginner level, one at the intermediate and one at the advanced level.
