At 5: 00 pm on September 24, 2021 (10: 00 am on September 24, local time in Morocco), Ruan Litao, Director of Department of Ultrasound of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi 'an Jiaotong University (XJTU), Deputy Secretary Tai Minghui and Associate Professor Song Yan delivered 2-hour online ultrasound academic exchange with Professor Najat Cherif Idrissi El Ganouni, Professor Ouali Mariem Idrissi and Professor Boutakyout Badr from Department of Radiology of University Hospital of Marrakech in Morocco.

Professor Ouali Mariem Idrissi from Department of Radiology of University Hospital of Marrakech introduced the profile of University Hospital of Marrakech, equipment, staff composition and clinical technologies of Department of Radiology. Subsequently, Director Ruan Litao illustrated the influence of our hospital in China, the achievements and special advantageous projects carried out by Department of Ultrasound and Department of Medical Imaging in recent years, receiving widespread recognition from counterparts from Department of Radiology of University Hospital of Marrakech.

During the free communication session, three professors from University Hospital of Marrakech expressed their willingness to learn from us in the fields of standardized diagnosis and treatment of thyroid gland, TI-RADS classification, fine needle biopsy, ablation therapy, multi-modality fusion imaging technology, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, ultrasonic elastography, cardiac function detection, and critical ultrasound,etc. Director Ruan Litao stated that China-Africa friendship has a long history. Many departments, including Department of Ultrasound have sent medical teams to poverty-stricken areas in Africa for medical assistance for multiple times. Guided by the "Belt and Road Initiative", China-Africa exchange and cooperation have been further strengthened. In the upcoming October, our hospital will conduct special academic exchange with Department of Radiology of University Hospital of Marrakech on FNA of the thyroid once again. In the future, bilateral sides will hold a series of special online seminars to share our experience in the fields that captivate the attention of Department of Radiology of University Hospital of Marrakech.