Havana's University Rector, Miriam Nicado García, advocated Monday for institutionalizing education as a strategic sector for the socioeconomic progress of the countries.

Beijing.- Addressing the Global Forum of University Presidents, the academic said that governments have a central role in implementing public policies to favor local development.

“A sustainable university educates citizens for development,” the rector stated while defending the application of knowledge and innovation.

The Cuban Government has been aware of the link between socioeconomic development and scientific policies since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, she reminded.

As part of her agenda in Beijing, Nicado spoke with Zhou Zuoyu, Vice President of Beijing Pedagogical University, an institution of higher education in humanities and social sciences with a high scientific and technological innovation development.

The Forum is a large-scale international academic conference that China’s higher education circles have held in the last few years to provide a platform for exchange and dialogue between the presidents of the world’s top universities. (PL)