A national seafarers' training program under the Belt and Road Initiative was launched in Quanzhou, Fujian province, on Monday. The first batch of 24 trainees from Bangladesh will attend a 44-day seafarers' training at Quanzhou Teachers' College.

    Maryland Kasar Mohamed, a Bangladeshi trainee, said that participating in the training is not only of great help to his maritime life, but also helps seafarers to understand the extensive and profound traditional Chinese culture, understand the Chinese language and various cuisines, and broaden their horizons in the world.

    "This training in strict accordance with the requirements and standards of Chinese crew training, including Chinese language and cultural knowledge and crew vocational skills and other major training programs, using a combination of theoretical teaching and practical training exchanges, standardized and orderly training work."

    Chen Weijun, deputy director of the Zhongquan International Seafarer Training Center of Quanzhou Normal University, said that the training course will substantially improve the trainees' professional skills, language skills and cross-cultural communication skills. After the trainees pass the training, the training institution will issue the corresponding training Certificate.

    In order to ensure the smooth development of the training work, Fujian Maritime Safety Administration takes the cooperation in the field of maritime education and training as the starting point, guides the navigation colleges under its jurisdiction to actively integrate into the "Belt and Road" construction, plays the role of maritime soft connectivity, and provides professional guidance services in the maintenance of training equipment and other hardware, the improvement of training courses and other software, and the solution of training difficulties. During the training period, we will continue to follow up and provide guidance, timely help to coordinate and solve relevant problems, and effectively ensure the high-quality training.

    "This training has laid a good foundation for promoting the exchange of seafarers in countries and regions jointly building the Belt and Road, and also played a positive role in Fujian Maritime Safety Administration's exploration of a new model of international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative." Lin Lin, director of the Crew Management Department of Fujian Maritime Safety Administration, hopes that through such a learning and exchange platform, we can learn from each other, make common progress, and inject new vitality into maritime cooperation of the "Belt and Road" together.