PHNOM PENH, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Heads of 90 Confucius Institutes in 31 countries and regions in Asia have arrived in Cambodian capital for the 2013 Joint Conference of Confucius Institutes, to be held from May 29-31, the institute's senior official said Wednesday.
The conference will be held by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday afternoon at the Peace Palace.
Speaking in a press briefing on Wednesday morning, Xu Lin, Director-General of Chinese Language Council or Hanban and Chief Executive of Confucius Institute Headquarters, said that the conference would discuss the next 3-year action plan in developing the Confucius Institutes.
"They will also seek ways to build capacity for local teachers in teaching Chinese language and develop teaching materials for Chinese language teachers in each country," she said.
She added that as next year will be the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Confucius Institutes, the conference will also discuss the preparations of various activities to celebrate the anniversary.
The Confucius Institutes focus on Chinese language teaching and Chinese culture promotion. Xu Lin said that for Cambodia, the Confucius Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia was founded in 2009, so far, there are more than 6,800 students learning in more than 10 locations.
"The Confucius Institute in Cambodia has rapidly developed and becomes a good model for the institutes in other countries to follow, this is the reason we choose Cambodia for the 2013 conference," she said.
