Icelandic president visits Shanghai

Visiting Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson Thursday spoke highly of the achievements made by Shanghai in economic and social development.

Grimsson arrived at this economic hub of China from Beijing Thursday, continuing his week-long state visit as guest of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

In a meeting with Shanghai Vice Mayor Feng Guoqin, Grimsson said this Shanghai tour is very impressive, and Shanghai can represent the beautiful future of China's development.

Feng briefed the guests on Shanghai's economic and social situation, especially Shanghai's efforts in environmental protection.

Statistics show that Shanghai and Iceland have enjoyed rapid growth in economic and trade exchanges, with bilateral trade volume reaching 3.5 million US dollars last year. The trade volume between Shanghai and Iceland witnessed a year-on-year increase of 207 percent in the first quarter this year.

Grimsson also attended the signing ceremony of cooperation agreements between Shanghai University and Iceland's Bifrost School of Business. He said in his speech that in the future development of Iceland-China ties, priority would be given to cooperation within universities of the two countries.

The signing of cooperation agreements between these Chinese and Icelandic universities indicates the feasibility of education cooperation between the two countries, and paves the way for further cooperation in education, the president said, regarding it as one of the important fruits of his China tour.

According to the agreement, the two universities will cooperate in education, culture and scientific research and exchange academic materials, publication and personnel.

Source: Xinhua