On the morning of March 26, Mr. Gince Kuruvilla Mattam, the newly appointed Consul General of India in Guangzhou, along with Commercial Consul Ms. Muskan Jindal and Social Secretary & Interpreter Mr. Chen Yingqi, visited Shenzhen University. They held talks with Xu Bo, Secretary of the SZU Party Committee, and Chao Naipeng, Vice President of SZU, followed by a discussion with Professor Yu Longyu, Director of the Indian Studies Center, and other scholars at the Tan Yunshan Sino-Indian Friendship Hall.
Xu Bo extended a warm welcome to Consul General Mattam and introduced SZU’s educational achievements and international cooperation efforts. He highlighted the Indian Studies Center as a key platform for global exchange and expressed SZU’s commitment to expanding collaboration with Indian universities, research institutions, and the Consulate to further enhance people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Consul General Mattam thanked SZU for its longstanding support and referenced the important bilateral consensus reached during the leaders’ meeting in Tianjin in 2025. He emphasized mutual understanding, trust, and respect as the foundation for advancing India-China relations. Given Shenzhen’s reputation as a global hub for technological innovation, he looked forward to exploring more practical cooperation in talent cultivation, scholar exchanges, and research projects between SZU and Indian institutions.
During the visit to the Tan Yunshan Sino-Indian Friendship Hall, Professor Yu Longyu introduced the two-decade development of the Indian Studies Center, its academic achievements, and its role in promoting mutual understanding. He referenced the ancient Indian allegory of the “two-headed bird” to underscore the shared destiny of China and India, and highlighted “dragon-elephant synergy” as a path forward.
Consul General Mattam praised the Center’s contributions to deeper civilizational dialogue and encouraged scholars to continue their focus on India studies while also paying attention to contemporary social, economic, and political developments. He affirmed the Consulate’s willingness to strengthen ties with SZU and support more cultural and academic exchanges.
During the meeting, Professor Yu Longyu entrusted Consul General Mattam with a Hindi letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, extending a sincere invitation for him to visit SZU and unveil the Tagore statue on campus when convenient, an act symbolic of youth friendship between the two nations.
Before concluding the visit, Consul General Mattam and his delegation paid respects at the Tagore statue in front of Huiwen Building, where they laid flowers in tribute.
