Africa expects to have its first Confucius Institute open in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, on December 19.

Designated by China's National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL), north China's Tianjin Normal University has undertaken the preparatory work of the new institute.

Zhong Yinghua, head of the International Education College of the university, said that the preparatory work, started in September 2004, has been going on smoothly. They have sent many teaching facilities such as computers, textbooks and FM receivers to Nairobi in preparation for the opening of the institute next month.

With a view to further promote cultural exchanges between China and the African countries, the educational departments of China and Kenya reached an agreement in June 2004 to establish a Confucius Institute in Nairobi.

The institute is the first of the 16 Africa-based Confucius Institutes approved by NOCFL, which are to be developed in coming years, in an effort to popularize the teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture worldwide.

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2005)