On October 16 local time, the new building of the Confucius Institute at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, which was aided by the Chinese government, was officially put into use. Tian Qi, Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica; Guo Jiaoyang, Director of the Department of North America and Oceania Confucius Institutes of Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters; Dale Webber, Principal of the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies; and the Chinese and Foreign Directors of the Confucius Institute attended the opening ceremony.

In his speech, Tian Qi sent his warm congratulations to the completion and commissioning of the Confucius Institute building and expressed his thanks to the Jamaican party for its lasting support. He said that the new Confucius Institute building is a gift from the Chinese people to the Jamaicans. It belongs to not only the Confucius Institute, but also the Mona Campus and all Jamaican people. He hoped that the functions of the building can be fully utilized and the bridge of friendship between China and Jamaica further strengthened.

In his speech, Dale thanked the Chinese government and all those who had contributed to the construction of the new building. He believed that the new building will play a positive role in promoting Chinese language teaching and cultural exchange between China and Jamaica.

Chinese and foreign responsible persons of 8 Confucius Institutes and Classrooms in the Caribbean, teachers and students of Mona Campus and representatives from all walks of life in Jamaica participated in the opening ceremony.