The 10th anniversary of the establishment of Confucius Institute in Sofia was celebrated on Tuesday evening.

Xu Lin, head of Confucius Institute Headquarters,or Hanban, said in a congratulatory speech that since the founding of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, the number of students studying Chinese has grown steadily, and the quality of teaching has been constantly increasing, while cultural events were becoming more diverse.

The Confucius Institute in Sofia was recognized as one of the first model Confucius Institutes worldwide for its active contribution to promoting exchanges and cooperation between China and Bulgaria in education and culture, and strengthening friendly relations between the two countries, Xu said in the speech, read by Prof. Ge Zhiqiang, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia.

Prof. Alexander Fedotov, who in 2006 signed the agreement for the establishment of the Confucius Institute Sofia on behalf of the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", said the past 10 years have been rough but successful.

In turn, Prof. Anastas Gerdjikov, the current rector of the Sofia University, said in turn that he is proud of the Confucius Institute in Sofia.

He hopes that the coming years will be even more successful for the development of the institute, and the interest of Bulgarian public to the Chinese language will increase, Gerdjikov said during the event, which was attended by Borislav Velikov, former speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament.

Chen Ying, First Secretary of the Chinese embassy in Bulgaria and head of its education section, noted that Confucius Institute in Sofia has already become a bridge for cooperation and exchange of ideas and projects in all areas of bilateral relations between China and the Balkan country.

The Confucius Institute in Sofia was established with the support of Hanban as a partner organization between the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and the Beijing Foreign Studies University, and it is part of the global network of over 400 Chinese educational institutions worldwide.