On November 9, 2024, the second 'China-Arab Forum on Global Development and Governance' was held at Fudan University. The theme of this Forum is “Global Leadership and South-South Cooperation”. Li Jin, President of Fudan University, Amr Salama, Secretary General of Association of Arab Universities, Chunhua Yan, Vice President of China Association of Higher Education attended and delivered opening remarks. Zhu Xian, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of International Financial Forum, Sofiane Sahraoui, Director General of International Institute of Administrative Sciences, Farraj Alajmi, Director of Education and Scientific Research Department of the League of Arab States (Arab League), Faisal Swedan, Deputy Director of Training Department of the Arab League, Dexanourath Seneduangdeth, Acting President of National University of Laos, Phouphet Kyophilavong, Vice President of National University of Laos, Jinming Yan, Secretary General of National Steering Committee of MPA, Zhimin Chen, Vice President of Fudan University, Yan Chen, Assistant President of Fudan University and important guests from China, Arabia and the world attended the Forum to discuss global leadership and South-South cooperation. Zhimin Chen presided over the opening ceremony.

Before the opening ceremony, Zhimin Chen, conveyed the congratulatory comments from Mr. Gheit, Secretary General of the Arab League, to this Forum. Gheit expressed warm congratulations on the convening of the Forum on behalf of the Secretariat of Arab League. He pointed out that under the current developing trend of multipolarity, South-South cooperation is crucial to promoting global leadership and developing solutions to pressing issues such as climate, artificial intelligence, health and education, and helps to build a new international system that is fairer, safer and more democratic. He looked forward to the deepening and expanding cooperation between the Arab League and Fudan University, and wished the Forum a complete success.

In his opening remarks, Li Jin emphasized that the current global governance is facing many major challenges, and universities should shoulder their due responsibilities and cultivate future global leaders through innovative cooperation. Cooperation with Arab countries is one of the core global strategies of Fudan University. Fudan has established close cooperative relations with the Arab League, the Association of Arab Universities and a series of Arab universities, established the Fudan-Arab Research Center for Global Development and Governance, and launched the China-Arab Network of Schools of Public Policy and Administration, and comprehensively promoted the cultivation of Chinese and Arab global governance talents. He sincerely thanked Secretary General Gheit for his warm congratulatory comments to the Forum, saying that Fudan will actively implement the various cooperation issues together with Arab colleagues.

Amr Salama pointed out that in the face of a rapidly changing world, the Arab world and China, as important members of the Global South, have the responsibility to demonstrate common leadership through cooperation to promote a more equitable and sustainable global order. Through in-depth cooperation between Arab and Chinese universities, the two sides can open up new ways in knowledge exchange, scientific research cooperation and future leader training, and contribute to regional and global development.

Chunhua Yan said that Arab countries are important educational partners of China. China Association of Higher Education and Association of Arab Universities jointly established the ' China-Arab Consortium of Universities Exchange Mechanism', implemented the 'China-Arab University 10 +10 Cooperation Plan', and promoted university cluster cooperation in ten major areas such as public policy, so as to promote exchanges of professors and students, talent training and scientific research collaboration, and help build a China-Arab community with a shared future.

In the keynote speech of the Forum, Farraj Alajmi, Director of the Education Department of the Arab League, affirmed the achievements of China-Arab cooperation, saying that since the signing of the agreement between the Arab League and Fudan University in 2023, the cooperation between the two sides has made remarkable progress. In-depth cooperation in fields such as youth exchanges has injected new impetus into global governance and South-South cooperation. In particular, he mentioned that the China-Arab Youth Summit held in this Forum focuses on major issues such as global development, security, and civilization, providing a platform for young people from both sides to deepen dialogues and cooperation. He announced that the Arab League will open training programs to Chinese students for the first time as one important step to promote bilateral cooperation. Amr Salama, Secretary General of the Association of Arab Universities, emphasized the central role of education in global leadership and South-South cooperation, and spoke highly of the achievements of China and Arab countries in educational and research projects such as the '10 +10 Cooperation Plan'. Cooperation between Chinese and Arab universities in many key areas has promoted sustainable development and cultural exchanges, and provided a model for countries in the global south. He pointed out that China-Arab cooperation has shown great potential in the fields of artificial intelligence, renewable energy, cultural exchanges, etc. It is expected that both sides will jointly meet the challenges of sustainable development through joint research and innovation. Xian Zhu, Executive Vice President of the International Financial Forum, focused on the future trend of globalization and regionalization, pointing out that although globalization has brought economic growth and technological progress, today's globalization faces multiple challenges, such as the rise of protectionism caused by uneven distribution of income. These may lead to a regional-based global economic framework in the future. He emphasized that despite the challenges faced by economic globalization, the globalization of knowledge and technology will continue to promote international cooperation, calling on all parties to find a balance between efficiency and fairness and work together to deal with complex global issues. Zhimin Chen, Vice President of Fudan University, presided over the keynote speech.

In the President’s Forum, Li Jin, Walid Salameh, and Dexanourath Seneduangdeth discussed the missions and responsibilities of universities in the era of globalization. President Li Jin pointed out that the center of gravity of global knowledge production is gradually shifting, and universities in the global South, especially Chinese universities, are rising rapidly. He called on universities in the north and south of the world to work together to cultivate global leaders. Walid Salameh, former vice president of Princess Sumaya University of Technology in Jordan, emphasized the important role of South-South cooperation in promoting the sustainable development of countries in the global South, notably that Arab countries and China have achieved important cooperation results in many fields. Dexanourath Seneduangdeth praised the 'Belt and Road' initiative and its achievements in promoting cooperation in infrastructure and agriculture, calling for deepening cooperation in innovative green technologies and seeking common sustainable development. Xizhe Peng, Director of the Academic Committee of the Institute for Global Public Policy at Fudan University, presided over the president's Forum.

In the Panel of the 'Missions and Responsibilities of Youth', Hayam Al-Sallal, an employee of the Secretariat of the Arab League and a current master student in the Master in Global Public Policy Program of Fudan University, shared her experiences of career development and China-Arab cooperation, emphasizing the role of youth in coping with global challenges. Jingyuan Xu, assistant professor at Fudan Institute for Global Public Policy, spoke on behalf of Chinese youth, pointing out that youth shoulder the historical responsibility of promoting progress and international cooperation in global development, and encouraged them to become bridges for cultural exchanges and work together to build a prosperous and fair future world. Yijia Jing, Dean of the Fudan Institute for Global Public Policy presided over this session, introduced the design ideas and preparations for the first 'China-Arab Youth Summit', and invited all young people attending the summit to take a group photo.

Promoting the 10 +10 cooperation plan

At the Forum, the Institute for Global Public Policy of Fudan University, the Chinese leading unit in the field of public policy of China-Arab 10 +10 program, signed a cooperation agreement with the School of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco, the Arab leading unit, to promote cooperation in student exchanges, joint courses and scientific research. Dean Yijia Jing and Professor Aziz Ajbilou exchange the signed agreements. Li Jin, President of Fudan University, Amr Salama, Secretary General of the Association of Arab Universities, Chunhua Yan, Vice President of the China Association of Higher Education and Farraj Alajmi, Director of the Education Department of the Arab League witnessed the signing ceremony. Walid Salameh, Senior Adviser of the Association of Arab Universities, presided over the signing ceremony.

The “China-Arab Network of Schools of Public Policy and Administration (CANSPPA)” held the inauguration ceremony of the Executive Committee. President Li Jin issued certificates of appointment to members of the Executive Committee, Sofiane Sahraoui, Alfred Ho, Noha Elmekawy, Hamid Ali and Yijia Jing.

Subsequently, CANSPPA held a ceremony to welcome new members, including the School of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, the School of Public Policy and Administration of Xi'an Jiaotong University, and the School of Public Administration of Sichuan University, and the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Macau. The network has expanded from the initial 12 founding members to 16, further strengthening the cooperation and exchanges between Chinese and Arab universities in the field of public policy. Aziz Ajbilou, Xinyu Dong, Wei Zhang and Bo Wen took a group photo with members of the Executive Committee on behalf of the new member units.

Launching Fudan IMPA Program and signing cooperation agreements

At the launching ceremony of the International Master of Public Administration (IMPA) program of Fudan University, Jinming Yan, Secretary General of National Steering Committee of MPA, Dean of School of Public Administration and Policy of the Renmin University of China, pointed out that the establishment of IMPA program is a key step to respond to the needs of global governance and national development strategy, and wished the program to train senior management talents and future leaders for “the belt and road initiative” countries. Sofiane Sahraoui, Director General of International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) and Board Member of International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA), believes that the project will become an important bridge for communication and understanding between China and Arab countries in the field of public administration. The launching ceremony was hosted by Yan Chen, Assistant President of Fudan University and Dean of the Graduate School.

After the launching ceremony, Li Jin, Tippawan Lorsuwannarat, President of the National Institute of Development Management (NIDA) of Thailand, and Danucha Pichayanan, Secretary General of the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council of Thailand, signed a tripartite cooperation agreement on IMPA cooperation. Lorsuwannarat and Pichayanan delivered speeches respectively, saying that on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand, the agreement will promote tripartite academic exchanges and enhance Thailand’s public sector human resources improvement. The signing ceremony was presided over by Lian Lu, Director of the Office of Global Partnerships of Fudan University.

Li Jin and Dexanourath Seneduangdeth, acting president of National University of Laos, signed a cooperation agreement on jointly building the IMPA project.

Yijia Jing, Dean of the Fudan Institute for Global Public Policy, and Achakorn Wongpreedee, Dean of the Graduate School of Public Administration of NIDA, renewed their cooperation agreement.

Launching Fudan-Arab League Training Program and Excellent Internship Program

Faisal Swedan, Deputy Director of the Training Department of the Arab League, introduced Fudan's academic training camp for young and middle-aged cadres of the Arab League, and highly praised its positive role in promoting the knowledge of Arab League officials of China's national governance and global governance and improve their professional capabilities. He announced that the Fudan-Arab League Excellent Internship Program will be launched in Cairo Egypt in January 2025, providing Chinese students with valuable opportunities to gain an in-depth understanding of the history, functions and organization of the Arab League. Yijia Jing introduced the ideas and design of the internship program and invited all participants to witness the countdown ceremony for the launch of the project.

This Forum is specially supported by the League of Arab States, guided by the Association of Arab Universities and the Chinese Association of Higher Education, sponsored by Fudan University, and hosted by the Institute of Global Public Policy and the Office of Global Partnerships of Fudan University.

This Forum has three sub-Forums, including the subforum of “The China-Arab Public Policy Dialogue under the 10+10 Scheme and the Annual Conference of China-Arab Network of Schools of Public Policy and Administration (CANSPPA)”, which is sponsored by the Institute for Global Public Policy, CANSPPA and Fudan-Arab Research Center for Global Development and Governance; the subforum of “Anti-Corruption and Public Policy: From Grassroots Governance to International Cooperation”, sponsored by the Institute for Global Public Policy and the Institute for Discipline Inspection and Supervision of Fudan University; and the subforum “China-Arab Youth Summit”, sponsored by the Institute for Global Public Policy, CANSPPA, and Fudan-Arab Research Center for Global Development and Governance.