On November 22, President Pei Gang and Vice President Li Xin met with Mr. Alejandro Cruz, Minister of Science and Technology of Costa Rica, accompanied by Dr. Julio Calvo Alvarado, President of Costa Rica Institute of Technology.

President Pei introduced the history and current development of Tongji University, emphasized on the characteristics of disciplinary chain, international cooperation and social services, as well as the concept of sustainability-oriented development.

Mr. Cruz said that Costa Rica is currently in the process of transformation, from natural resources based economy to technological innovation based economy. That’s why Costa Rican universities are in urgent need to strengthen cooperation with other universities of engineering and applied sciences. President Pei expressed his agreement upon that point and he stressed that Tongji University attaches great importance to the training of excellent engineers, cooperation in scientific research and university-industry cooperation, so he hoped deeper exchange and communication would be realized with the support of both sides’ Ministry of Science and Technology.