On 17th and 18th of January, 2023, the Spring Festival Gala hosted by the Confucius Institutes of Azerbaijan University of Languages (AUL) and Baku State University (BSU) was successfully held in Baku. More than 100 foreign and local friends, including the Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of China in Azerbaijan, Ding Tao, former Prime Minister of Azerbaijan and Vice-Rector of AUL, Novruz Mammadov, Vice-Rector for International Relations of AUL, Jala Garibova, leader of Odlar Yurdu University, Sangeetha Rao, Chinese and Azerbaijani directors of the Confucius Institutes of AUL and BSU, representatives of Chinese enterprises in Azerbaijan, Chinese diaspora, teachers and students of the Confucius Institutes, and representatives of mainstream media in Azerbaijan, gathered together to celebrate the Spring Festival.

In his speech, Minister Counsellor Ding Tao extended sincere greetings and best wishes to the guests who attended the New Year celebration, and said that China and Azerbaijan both have a long history and profound cultural heritage. The Spring Festival and the traditional festival of Azerbaijan—Novruz both symblize rebirth and hope. At the beginning of this month, China optimized and adjusted the COVID-19 policy, which will better facilitate the people-to-people exchanges for Chinese and foreign citizens. China stands ready to continue to deepen exchanges and friendly cooperation with Azerbaijan in various fields such as education and culture, so as to promote China-Azerbaijan relations to a higher level.

Jala Garibova and Sangeetha Rao expressed New Year greetings to Chinese friends, and said that with the deepening of Azerbaijan-Chinese friendship, more and more students and people of Azerbaijan are actively learning Chinese language and eager to learn more about Chinese culture. The Azerbaijani side will continue to support the Chinese language teaching in two Confucius Institutes, and wishes Confucius Institutes to cultivate more Chinese language talents in the new year and contribute more youth strength to the friendship between the two countries.

The event was well-decorated with lights and colors at a festive and warm atmosphere. The teachers and students of Confucius Institutes presented wonderful performances of singing and dancing, folk music, dragon dance, cross talk, calligraphy, martial arts, and Chinese clothing exhibition to the audience with full enthusiasm. Questions and answers on Chinese cultural knowledge were interspersed, which constantly pushed the atmosphere of the scene to a climax. The event was widely covered by Azertag and other mainstream media.