On the afternoon of June 20, a signing ceremony between SCMU and the Institute of Public Administration Research and Training under Laos Ministry of Home Affairs was held at the Academic Exchange Center. The ceremony was attended by Liu Yi, Deputy Party Secretary and President of the university, Fang Debin, Party Committee Standing Member and Vice President, Chantha Onxayvieng, Director of the Institute of Public Administration Research and Training under Laos Ministry of Home Affairs, and leaders from relevant schools and departments of the university. Fang Debin presided over the ceremony.

Representatives from both sides in discussion.

Photo courtesy of International Cooperation and Exchange Office

In his opening remarks, Liu Yi reviewed the history of cooperation between the two institutions. He noted that since the first cooperation agreement was signed in 2017, both sides have conducted practical and efficient collaboration in personnel exchanges, civil servant training, ethnic affairs research, and talent development, contributing wisdom and strength to building the China-Laos community with a shared future. The university has leveraged its disciplinary and professional advantages to design training programs focusing on enhancing administrative management capabilities, primary governance innovation, and optimizing local government effectiveness, training over 200 civil servants for the Laos Ministry of Home Affairs. He pointed out that the first cohort of Laotian civil servants in the university’s English-taught Master’s program in Public Administration has successfully completed their studies, marking positive achievements in talent development cooperation between the two sides.

Chantha Onxayvieng highly praised the cooperation achievements and expressed sincere gratitude to SCMU for its long-standing support. She stated that the cooperation between the two institutions represents a vivid example of governance experience sharing between China and Laos under the Belt and Road Initiative. SCMU faculty teams have visited Laos multiple times for academic exchanges, sharing China’s successful experiences in primary governance and other areas, providing valuable references for the Laotian government’s efforts to advance governance system reform.

With witnesses present, representatives from both sides signed the cooperation agreement. Both parties indicated that they will use this signing as an opportunity to continue deepening exchanges and cooperation in civil servant training, academic research, talent development, and other areas, achieving even more fruitful results.

Signing ceremony. Photo courtesy of International Cooperation and Exchange Office