Ｆｉｒｓｔ Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ａｒａｂ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ｃｏｎｆｅｒｅｎｃｅ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｋｈａｒｔｏｕｍ

The first China-Arab Friendship Conference sponsored by the China-Arab Friendship Association (CAFA) and the League of Arab States (LAS)， supported by the foreign ministries of China and Arab countries and organized by the Sudanese Council for International People’s Friendship was held in Khartoum， capital of Sudan from November 28 to 29， 2006. Being the first gathering of the Chinese and Arab friendship organizations， the Conference is of great significance and a new milestone in the history of the friendly people-to-people exchanges between China and Arab countries.

The first China-Arab Friendship Conference， one of the activities held by the CPAFFC and the CAFA in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the beginning of diplomatic relations between new China and Arab countries， was attached great importance to by the participating countries. China sent a 35-member CAFA delegation headed by Tomur Dawamat， former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and president of the CAFA， and composed of representatives of the Foreign Ministry， the CAFA， the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs， and leading members of 16 provincial and municipal people’s associations for friendship with foreign countries. On the Arab side， about 150 people including leading members and representatives of the friendship-with-China organizations of 22 Arab countries and the representatives of the LAS attended the conference. On the morning of November 28， a grand opening ceremony of the conference was held in the Friendship Hall of Khartoum. Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha， ministers of various ministries， diplomatic envoys to Sudan， delegations of participating countries， the media of various countries and personages of various circles in Sudan， among about 800 people， attended the conference. Vice President Taha， Arab League Assistant Secretary General Nancy Bakir and CAFA President Tomur Dawamat， respectively on behalf of the hosting country and the sponsors， spoke on the occasion. Ambassador Yao Kuangyi， leading official of the Forum Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry， and Selman Algeria， director general of the Department of Nongovernmental Organizations of the LAS， respectively read out the messages of congratulations from Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxin and LAS Secretary General Amre Moussa. In their speeches， the Chinese and Arab participants recalled the history of friendly contacts between China and Arab countries， highly praised the traditional friendship between the two sides， placed high hopes on China-Arab nongovernmental exchanges and cooperation in the new era and expressed warm congratulation on the successful convening of the conference.

After the opening ceremony， four plenary meetings were held. At the first meeting， CPAFFC Vice President Wang Yunze and Arab League Assistant Secretary General Nancy Bakir on behalf of the Chinese and Arab sides made key-note speeches centring on the theme of the conference. Wu Sike， Chinese Ambassador to the LAS， made a speech entitled China-Arab Relations and China’s Stance on the Middle East Issue. In their speeches at the following meetings 4 Chinese and 22 Arab representatives talked freely and cheerfully about China-Arab friendship and broad prospects for the development of China-Arab nongovernmental friendly relations， exchanged experiences in carrying out nongovernmental friendly exchanges with China， explored ways and channels for further expanding exchanges and cooperation and reached consensus in many aspects. The meetings were held in a warm and friendly atmosphere at which participants spoke without reservation and had full discussions and friendly consultations on each item of the agenda in the spirit of taking overall interests into account and seeking common ground while reserving differences and reached consensus on a broad range of issues. The meeting finished deliberation of all the items on the agenda smoothly and achieved a full success.

The Declaration on China-Arab People-to-People Friendship approved at the conference elaborates the significance and the aim of the conference， reviews the traditional China-Arab friendly relations and expresses the determination of the participants to continue their efforts for the further development of China-Arab nongovernmental friendly and cooperative relations.

All the participants unanimously agreed to establish the China-Arab Friendship Conference mechanism， deciding that the conference will be held every two years and organized by either Chinese or Arab qualified organizations. At the last plenary meeting， the participants unanimously agreed that the next conference would be hosted by Syria.

During the conference， representatives of the Arab countries through consultation decided unanimously to establish the Federation of the Arab-China Friendship Associations as an Arab nongovernmental friendship organization corresponding to the China-Arab Friendship Association. Its headquarters will be established in Khartoum and a permanent secretariat will be set up in charge of routine business. Presidency of the Federation will rotates in every two years among the leaders of the friendship organizations of the country that hosts the China-Arab Friendship Conference.

The Conference through friendly consultation decided to designate November 29 as the Day of China-Arab Friendship which is also the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People designated by the United Nations. In the future on November 29 every year the friendship organizations of China and Arab countries and the LAS will hold celebration in various forms.