Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Mr. Wu Bangguo attended the ceremony, which also included the signing of a Tourist Agreement. President of the Storting, Mr. Jørgen Kosmo, host to Wu Bangguo in Norway, was also present at the ceremony.
Norway and China first signed a cultural agreement in 1963, the first agreement of its kind between China and a western country. The agreement was last extended in 1998 and the new agreement contains few changes, most of which concern the duration and amount of scholarships for students and researchers.
The agreement comprises exchanges of teachers and experts, art, culture, media and youth organisations and cooperation between artists and journalists. The new agreement will last until the end of 2008.