On July 12th, Institute for International and Area Studies (IIAS) delegation visited the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London. During the visit, IIAS delegation toured the library's collections and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at fostering comprehensive cooperation in joint research, academic exchanges, and faculty-student visits.

Present at the signing ceremony were Vice President of Tsinghua University and Vice Chairman of the IIAS, Gang Peng; Director of the IIAS, Jingkui Jiang; Deputy Director Zhang Jing and Tim Niblock, Director of the Center for Global Issues; Director of Office of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Yongheng Yang, and Deputy Director Han Liu; Assistant Directors of IIAS Yan Zhou and Jiuzhou Duan; chief of staff, Office of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Chang Liu and Zhong Shi.

They were warmly received by more than ten department heads and faculty members from relevant offices of SOAS, including President Adam Habib, Vice Presidents Laura Hammond and Khadir Meer, and Library Director Rookaya Bawa.

Vice President Gang Peng and President Adam Habib delivered speeches during the ceremony. Vice President Peng emphasized the significance of the cooperation between the two institutions, expressed gratitude for SOAS's sincerity and steadfast support for collaboration, and looked forward to deepening comprehensive cooperation in regional and national studies in the future. President Habib similarly thanked Tsinghua University for its support and promotion of bilateral cooperation, highlighting the importance of dialogue, academic bridging, and advancing scholarly collaboration.

Following the signing of the MoU, representatives from both sides exchanged gifts to commemorate the occasion.