CPAFFC Vice President Feng Zuoku Leads Delegation to Sri Lanka

At the invitation of the Association for Sri Lanka-China Social and Cultural Cooperation (ASLCSCC)， a delegation led by CPAFFC Vice President Feng Zuoku paid a goodwill visit to Sri Lanka June 6-11 during which it attended the inaugural meeting of the Organization for South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China (OSARFCC).

This was initiated by Indrananda Abeysekera， President of the ASLCSCC， as a non-governmental， non-profit organization among friendship organizations in South Asia to promote regional cooperation and friendly exchanges with China and establishing substantial， long-term friendship. Representatives from 14 friendship organizations from five South Asian countries attended the inaugural meeting on June 7 and elected Sri Lankan Minister of Fisheries Rajitha Senaratna as its president. Feng Zuoku， addressing the meeting， said the establishment of the OSARFCC would provide an effective platform for South Asian friendship organizations to carry out friendly exchanges and promote pragmatic cooperation with China， open up new channels for China-South Asia cooperation and facilitate the implementation of regional multilateral cooperation projects. The CPAFFC was willing to carry out cooperation and make joint efforts to develop exchanges between the Chinese and South Asian peoples， boost regional cooperation and achieve common prosperity.

During its stay in Sri Lanka， the delegation visited the Sri Lankan Parliament and was received by Prime Minister Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne. The Prime Minister recalled with feeling the construction of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH). He recalled that Premier Zhou Enlai had laid the cornerstone of the BMICH and thanks to its completion， the First Conference of Non-Aligned Countries was able to be staged. Now， Sri Lanka was receiving great support from the Chinese Government and people in the construction of many of its public facilities such as highways， cultural centers， etc. He expressed his thanks to both for their selfless support and hoped that the two countries would carry out even more cooperation in future.

The Chinese delegation called on Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratna and the Governor of Central Province Tikiri Kobbekaduwa. Feng Zuoku conferred the Award of Contribution to China-Sri Lanka Friendship upon Senaratna， Justice Minister Athauda Seneviratne and Governor Alavi Moulana of Western Province. The delegation visited the Sanghamitta Vidyalaya Girls’ School in Colombo， planted a friendship tree there and donated books to the school library. It also visited the Sichuan Children’s Painting Exhibition and the Exhibition on the Life of Arniko and watched a performance by the Tianjin Cathy Future Children’s Art Troupe that accompanied the delegation on the visit.