ＣＰＡＦＦＣ Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ Ｃｈｅｎ Ｈａｏｓｕ Ｌｅａｄｓ Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ Ｇｏｏｄｗｉｌｌ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｔｏ Ｆｉｖｅ Ｇｕｌｆ Ｃｏｕｎｔｒｉｅｓ

An 11-member Chinese Goodwill Delegation headed by CPAFFC President Chen Haosu visited Qatar， Kuwait， Bahrain， Oman and Saudi Arabia from November 25 to December 8， 2005 at the invitation of the Central Municipal Council of Qatar， the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait， the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain， the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Oman and the Saudi Arabia-China Friendship Association. During the visit， the delegation had substantial meetings on cooperation with relevant organizations of the five countries. The visit has played a positive role in enhancing friendship between the people of China and the five Gulf States， deepening their mutual understanding， promoting the development of nongovernmental cultural and economic relations between them and furthering cooperation between local governments.

It happened to be local holidays when the delegation arrived. Some state leaders were taking vacations abroad. But the government and nongovernmental organizations of these countries paid great attention to the delegation’s visit. The prime minister， deputy prime minister， the governor of the Capital Governorate and the chairman of the Businessmen’s Association of Bahrain; the deputy prime minister who is also minister of state for cabinet affairs and National Assembly affairs， the chairman and vice chairman of the Municipal Council， the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry， the president of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development， and vice foreign minister of Kuwait; the adviser of foreign affairs to the head of state， vice minister of tourism， vice minister of commerce and industry and the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Oman; the minister of municipal affairs and agriculture， and the chairman and vice chairman of the Central Municipal Council of Qatar; the president of the Saudi Arabia-China Friendship Association and the chairman of Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry， met with the delegation or hosted banquets in its honour.

The visit to Qatar was a return visit for the one made by Ibrahim A. Al Heidous， chairman of the Central Municipal Council， in 2004 at the invitation of the CPAFFC. Al Heidous came to the airport to greet the delegation and entertained the delegation on two occasions. He also invited the delegation to sit in on the Council’s regular meeting. The heads of various departments of the Central Municipal Council led by him also had a fruitful consultation with the delegation. The two sides agreed to continue to exchange delegations of local government and municipal council to further cooperation and exchanges in municipal affairs between the two countries. At the meeting with Sultan Ben Hassan Al Dosari， minister of municipal affairs and agriculture who is in charge of the work of friendship cities， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu gave an account of the achievements the CPAFFC has won in its endeavour for the establishment of Sino-foreign friendship cities over the past 30-odd years as well as the stagnant state of its work in twinning friendship cities with the Gulf countries including Qatar. The minister said， the establishment of friendship cities is an important part of the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the people of the two countries. The Qatari side hopes to cooperate with the CPAFFC and make vigorous effort to push the development of friendship cities between Qatar and China. The delegation also had extensive contact with people from the business， women and other circles， laying the basis for all-dimensional people-to-people exchanges with Qatar in the future.

In his meeting with the delegation， Abdullah Al Muhailbi， chairman of the Municipal Council of Kuwait， said， the Municipal Council is very happy to establish friendly and cooperative relations with the CPAFFC and hopes to promote the establishment of more friendship cities between the two countries through concerted efforts by both sides. He also proposed that Beijing and Kuwait City， the capitals of the two countries twin friendship-city ties.

Shaikh Humood bin Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa， governor of the Capital Governorate of Bahrain， told the delegation when meeting with it that they had drawn up a 20-year long-term plan for the Capital Governorate and hoped to learn from and exchange experience with their Chinese colleagues in urban management and construction.

At an informal discussion with personages from Oman’s business circles， Salem Said Al Ghattam， president of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry， expressed the hope that China would make investments and build factories in Oman. The Chamber’s secretary general pointed out that China had designated Oman as a tourist destination for its citizens. He hoped to set up joint tourist companies with Chinese enterprises and welcomed Chinese enterprises to participate in the construction of tourist facilities in Oman.

At their meeting with the delegation， businessmen from the Saudi Arabia Chamber of Commerce and Industry put forward proposals for setting up a joint investment company as well as a joint investment fund or bank to facilitate cooperation in economy， trade and investment between China and Saudi Arabia， and to build a Chinese commodity mall in Riyadh by the two sides working in close cooperation.

Richly endowed with oil and natural gas resources， the Gulf countries have abundant funds， big markets and geographic advantages， and thus become the hot spots of the world. The rapid economic development of China has greatly attracted the attention of the Gulf countries， all of which expressed strong desire to cooperate with China. When meeting with the delegation， the leaders of these countries and the business circles expressed a common view: they regard China as their strategic cooperative partner， and hope that China will attach great importance to the Gulf States and strengthen and expand its cooperation with them in all fields.