A major military school in Kenya has introduced Chinese language to its curriculum for the first time, aiming to produce more officers who excel in Chinese to promote communications and exchanges between the two countries.

A total of 26 officers from the Defence Forces School of Education and Languages in the capital Nairobi are receiving training in Chinese language, provided by the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi. The course formally started on March 8 according to Wang Shangxue, director of the institute.

Among the 26 officers are 12 teachers, who are expected to teach Chinese to more military personnel in Kenya after they master the language, she said during a ceremony to mark the training program’s launch on Wednesday morning.

Maureen Achieng, a teacher from the institute, said trainees from the Defence Forces School of Education and Languages have studied basic Chinese and learned expressions such as greetings and self-introductions over the past month, and many of them are doing “remarkably well”.

In addition to language study, the students have also experienced traditional Chinese culture such as calligraphy, martial arts and music at the institute regularly, she said.

It is expected by December they may be able to pass the HSK-3, which means they will have achieved mid-level proficiency in Chinese, Achieng said. HSK is an internationally recognized evaluation system for Chinese language proficiency aimed at non-native speakers.

Zhou Pingjian, Chinese ambassador to Kenya, hailed the program at Wednesday’s ceremony, adding with better language skills from Chinese and Kenyans, the two countries will have more comprehensive cooperation.