ISTANBUL, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A fourth Confucius Institute in Turkey was inaugurated on Wednesday at the Yeditepe University in Istanbul, with an aim to enhance cultural exchanges and better understanding between Turkey and China.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Rector of Yeditepe University Canan Aykut Bingol said the opening of the Confucius Institute is significant as it will contribute to more exchanges and contacts between Turkish and Chinese college students and societies.
She added that the two countries are just carrying on a tradition long being established along the ancient Silk Road.
Bedrettin Dalan, the university's founding president, said it is important for Turks to study Chinese to promote the mutual understanding between China and Turkey.
The Confucius Institute has been instructing everyone to be friends instead of enemies, he said, while voicing the hope that Confucius' philosophy and thoughts will spread even further.
Chinese Ambassador to Turkey Yu Hongyang expressed the hope that the newly-opened Confucius Institute will become someday a prestigious brand for cultural exchanges between China and Turkey.
The Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing also sent a congratulatory message to the opening ceremony, hoping Yeditepe University and Nankai University, which is based in Tianjin in northern China and is co-hosting the new institution, will make joint efforts to turn the institute into "a bridge for more educational and cultural exchanges."
Yang Kexin, vice chancellor of Nankai University, said he believed that the new institution is set to play its due role in advancing cooperation and exchanges on education, culture and even business between China and Turkey through joint efforts.
The Confucius Institute has been set up in more than 140 countries and regions in the world, with more than 2 million students enrolled.
