Shandong University, or SDU – located in Jinan city, capital of East China’s Shandong province – and the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies from South Korea held an online signing ceremony on July 14 to organize the upcoming Shandong Forum 2021.

The forum, first launched in 2015, is a leading international event jointly hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies under the guidance and support of the Shandong People’s Provincial Government and it has been held on two occasions to date.

With its set purpose of "focusing on East Asia, mutual trust and win-win cooperation", the forum has been built up as a high-end academic platform for exchanges and interactions between global political figures and top business academics.

Fan Liming, president of Shandong University, said that this year marked the 120th anniversary of SDU and the Shandong Forum 2021 would be one of the important events in the celebrations. Fan said the university would work with the Chey Institute to make it an outstanding academic and cultural exchange activity.

Park In-kook, dean of the Chey Institute, talked about the work of the institute and praised the development of the Shandong Forum. He also expressed his gratitude to the organizing committee for their efforts – adding that this year's event would prove to be an important platform for academic exchanges on East Asian issues and the promotion of regional cooperation in East Asia.

Fan Liming – president of Shandong University – and Park In-kook, dean of the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, sign a cooperative agreement for the Shandong Forum 2021 via video on July 14. [Photo/view.sdu.edu.cn]