Arab countries and China will enhance cooperation in various fields based on the achievements of the Sino-Arab Cooperation Forum (SACF), Assistant Secretary General for political affairs of the Arab League Ahmad Ben Hely said Wednesday.

Addressing the opening session of the fourth meeting at the level of senior officials of the SACF on Wednesday morning, Ben Hely said Arab countries and China have made great progress in bilateral exchange in various fields since the establishment of the forum in 2004.

Based on previous achievements, Ben Hely said that the future would see further improvement in the fields of energy investment, human resources development, cultural exchange, environmental protection and education.

The two-day meeting intends to evaluate previous mutual exchange road-maps and to set the terrain for the third ministerial conference to be held in Bahrain next year. International issues such as the crumbled Middle-East peace process will also be discussed.

Song Aiguo, Director General of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s West Asian and North African Department, said the forum had been a wonderful platform upon which relations and cooperation between China and Arab countries had blossomed after three years of efforts.

Song also said that in the coming stage of bilateral cooperation, the forum will focus on new avenues for cooperation such as the hosting of more public activities to strengthen relations.

During the meeting, Chinese ambassador to Egypt Wu Sike echoed this thought, praising the momentum of cooperation between China and Arab countries in both political and economic spheres.

A final document will be released at the end of the meeting on Thursday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2007)