Ｐｅａｃｅ ａｎｄ Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ａｒａｂ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ｔｏｕｒ Ａｎｎｏｕｎｃｅｄ

On March 1， the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and China-Arab Friendship Association (CAFA) jointly held a press conference announcing the launching of Peace and China-Arab Friendship Tour. Tomur Dawamat， former vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee and president of the CAFA， Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC， Liu Zhiming， vice president of the CPAFFC and Chen Duo， member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and well-known CCTV anchor were present at the conference. President Chen Haosu delivered a speech.

Planned and organized by the CAFA for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of friendly relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Arab countries， this tour aims to further the cause of Sino-Arabian people’s friendship and promote cooperation in the fields of culture， economy and trade， tourism， etc..As the Peace and Friendship Ambassador， Chen Duo will travel with the motorcade throughout the journey.

Members of the motorcade will include famous personages from diplomatic， cultural， media and business circles of China， and it is planned that they will travel almost 20，000 kilometres through 20 countries including Iran， Kuwait， Saudi Arabia， Bahrain， Qatar， the United Arab Emirates， Oman， Yemen， Egypt， Jordan， Syria， Palestine， Libya and the Sudan. By extensive visits and news coverage， the team will promote economic and trade cooperation and bring Chinese people’s friendship to every corner of the Arab world while introducing the splendid Arabian culture to the Chinese people.

The team will set off from Beijing in October 2006， and arrive at Khartoum， capital city of the Sudan， in November， after 50 days travelling. They will join the Chinese friendship delegation there attending the First China-Arab Friendship Convention.

Sponsored by the CPAFFC and the CAFA and executed by the Beijing Target Auto Club and the Chen Duo Art Creations， this activity enjoys support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the Ministry of Culture， the National Tourism Administration， the State Administration of Radio， Film and Television， the General Administration of Customs， major media and Chinese embassies in the countries along the route. It is expected that the expedition would greatly enhance Sino-Arabian friendship， boost economy， further the development of culture and tourism， especially the communication between the people of different regions， cooperation between enterprises and cultural exchanges.