Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ｉｒａｎ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ Ｆｏｕｎｄｅｄ

The meeting of the First Council of the China-Iran Friendship Association (CIFA) and the inaugural meeting of the CIFA were held in Beijing on December 23， 2008.

The Council Meeting

The meeting of the First Council of the CIFA was held in the auditorium of the CPAFFC on December 23， 2008. About 70 council members from China’s ministries and commissions， local people’s associations for friendship with foreign countries， the press and media， academic institutions， industry associations and enterprises attended the meeting. At the meeting the Statutes of the CIFA and the list of the executive council members were approved， and its president， vice presidents and secretary general elected. Wang Meng， former cultural minister， became honorary president; CPAFFC President Chen Haosu its president; Fu Chengyu， general manager of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation， Feng Zuoku， CPAFFC vice president， Hua Liming and Liu Zhentang， former Chinese Ambassadors to Iran， and Yang Huaizhong， honorary president of the Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences， vice presidents; and Jia Ling secretary general.

Inaugural Meeting

On the evening of the same day， CIFA’s inaugural meeting was held in the auditorium of the CPAFFC. All the members who attended the CIFA’s first council meeting; Chian Javad Mansouri， Iranian ambassador to China; diplomats of the Iranian Embassy in China; some Iranians who stayed in Beijing， and Ahad Mohammadi， president of the Iran-China Friendship Association (ICFA)， and his party who specially came to Beijing to attend the inaugural meeting， among over 90 people， were present at the meeting.

In his speech， CPAFFC and CIFA President Chen Haosu said， China and Iran are two big countries in Asia. China-Iran relations are of great importance to the stability and development of Asia. The two countries have a larger space of cooperation in the new century. The CIFA will make joint efforts with the ICFA to write a new chapter of friendship between China and Iran.

Iranian Ambassador Mansouri said， both Iran and China are influential countries in the world. The ICFA and the CIFA， a bridge for strengthening contacts between the two peoples， play a vital role in the development of relations between the two countries. The Iranian Embassy in China will continue its support to the CPAFFC’s work.

In his speech， ICFA President Ahad Mohammadi spoke highly of the efforts made by CPAFFC President Chen Haosu in initiating the CIFA， and expressed the hope that the ICFA and the CIFA would make concerted efforts to promote friendly cooperation in various areas and solve the problems existing in the tourist and financial fields between the two countries.