The opening ceremony of Centre for International Studies of Caspian Sea Ecosystem was jointly held by Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (RCEECA), Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography CAS (Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography), and Gilan University of Iran (Gilan University) via online video on October 9^th .

Zhang Yaping, vice president of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Saral·Amory , deputy minister of Ministry of Scientific Research and Technology of Iran, Zhu Zihao, education counsellor of Chinese Embassy in Iran, and Sagad·Ahdezadeh , counsellor for technology and innovation cooperation of Iranian Embassy in China, attended and witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Cooperation and Construction and the unveiling of the foundation of Centre for International Studies of Caspian Sea Ecosystem, of which the opening ceremony was presided by Chen Xi, party branch secretary of Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of RCEECA.

Zhang Yaping extended the congratulations to the foundation of the study center and the thanks to all the participants during the speech. He reviewed the history and achievements of cooperation between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Iranian Vice President’ s Office of Science and Technology, and spoke highly of the achievements of cooperation between China and Iran since the establishment of diplomatic ties 50 years ago, hoping that the fruitful results and greater success can be achieved with the joint efforts of scientists from both side on the basis of co-built ecosystem field observation and research stations and the unveiled Centre for International Studies of Caspian Sea Ecosystem.

In his speech, Saral·Amory pointed out emphatically that China and Iran are both ancient civilizations, and he would fully support the communication and exchanges in the field of science and technology which is extremely important for deepening bilateral relations, and would create the appropriate working situation to promote cooperation among scientists from China and Iran, hoping to strengthen the all-round cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in science and education and expand the field of bilateral cooperation to promote the implementation and application of basic research results and to better serve the people’ s livelihood.

The representatives of the Chinese embassy and Iranian embassy attending the ceremony also warmly congratulated the foundation of study center, during which they agreed that the cooperation and exchanges between China and Iran in the field of ecological environment will be of great significance to promote the research on climate change and biodiversity conservation and the achievement of the 2030 sustainable development goals of the United Nations.

At the opening ceremony, Zhang Yuanming, director of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, and Ahmed·Ritz ,  president of Gilan University, respectively reported the main progress and phased achievements of bilateral science and education cooperation.

The Centre for International Studies of Caspian Sea Ecosystem will cooperate with Caspian region and its affiliated scientific research institutes to carry out cooperative research on the observation and research of Caspian regional ecosystem elements, the assessment and prediction of ecosystem stability and service functions, environmental protection and biodiversity conservation, and regional sustainable development and so on under the impact of climate change, to improve the relevant knowledge production and technological development, and  jointly hold international conferences and short-term training.

Wang Zhenyu, deputy director of Bureau of International Cooperation CAS, and the relevant personnel of RCEECA, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, and other departments about Bureau of International Cooperation CAS, attended the opening ceremony.

The scientific and technological cooperation between RCEECA and Iran was begun in 2016. At present, it maintains close academic exchanges with Isfahan University of technology, Guilan University, Shiraz University, Gorgan University of agricultural science and natural resources and Surrey University of agricultural science and natural resources, and jointly constructs three ecosystem field scientific observation and research stations.

Zhang Yaping, vice president (of Chinese Academy of Sciences) delivered the speech

 Saral·Amory, deputy minister (of Ministry of Scientific Research and Technology of Iran), delivered the speech

 signing ceremony

scene photos