A branch of the Confucius Institute has been inaugurated at Tehran University’s Foreign Languages Faculty, in a ceremony attended by China's ambassador to Iran and by academics.

Speaking at the event, Chinese envoy Xie Xiaoyan said that the Iranians and Chinese have common cultural thought that respects science and knowledge. He added that both are interested in cultural cooperation and exchanges.

Tehran University chancellor Farhad Rahbar expressed his hope that the institute would herald cooperation between Tehran University and Chinese universities.

He added that since the two countries are considered regional powers, they should expand scientific collaboration, saying, "We believe that scientific cooperation will enable the two nations prove their power and progress to the developed countries... We are aware of the Chinese universities' scientific power, and we favor exchanges of students and instructors."

Source: IRNA, Iran, January 14, 2009