MCEDO Beijing School in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Thursday signed a sister school partnership agreement with the Beijing School in China. The move is expected to give young learners in both schools a wide range of opportunities to explore the rich and diverse cultures in China and Africa.

In the agreement signed by MCEDO Beijing School director and China's Beijing School principal, the two schools pledged to carry out exchanges in language and cultural learning, curriculum construction and teaching and research. They plan to leverage online platforms to share resources, research products and key activities.

Zhang Zhizhong, minister counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Kenya, said that the partnership agreement is the first step in linking the two schools and he hopes that it will open up opportunities for students from MCEDO Beijing School to visit the real Beijing city in China as they get to learn about each other's culture.

Benedict Kiage, MCEDO Beijing School's director, welcomed the move, saying that it will go a long way in creating intercultural understanding within the school community, increase global awareness and opportunities to better understand a different culture for the students.

During the event, which was witnessed by Ma Jun, vice-mayor of Beijing municipal government, MCEDO Beijing School students received paintings, books and sports equipment from their counterparts from Beijing School in China with messages of friendship.

MCEDO Beijing School was established in Nairobi's Mathare slums in 2012 with the support of the Chinese embassy in Kenya. Since the partnership began, the Chinese business community in Kenya has spent more than $700,000 on various programs related to the school.