CPAFFC Advisor Gu Xiulian Visits Turkey and Cyprus

A Chinese Friendship Delegation led by Gu Xiulian, Advisor to the CPAFFC and Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress, paid a goodwill visit to Turkey and Cyprus from October 4 to 14, 2011.

The visit was made at the invitation of the Turkey-China Women’s Friendship and Culture Association (TCWFCA), the Turkey-China Friendship Association (TCFA), and the Cyprus-China Friendship Association (CCFA) and during it, the party met Mehmet Saglam, Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, and Fatma Sahin, Family and Social Policy Minister of Turkey, Yiannakis Omirou, President of the House of Representatives, and George Demosthenes, Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus.

Deputy Speaker Saglam said 2011 marked the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In Turkey, 40 was an auspicious number, and there was a proverb that, “A cup of coffee commits one to forty years of friendship”, he told the Chinese visitors.

The two countries had enjoyed smooth development of bilateral relations, marked by Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s visit to China in 2009 and Premier Wen Jiabao’s reciprocal visit to Turkey in the following year. Turkey attached great importance to the relationship, and hoped to strengthen exchanges and learn from Chinese experiences so as to speed up the country’s catch-up development.

The Grand National Assembly would like to consolidate its communications with China’s National People’s Congress, he added.

Minister Fatma Sahin said the two governments maintained close contacts to create a good bilateral relationship conducive to world peace and development. The Turkish Government paid great attention to protecting the rights of women and children and providing assistance to the poor families and the disabled. As a country with a big population, China had accumulated a great deal of useful experience in this regard and Turkey hoped to enhance exchanges and cooperation in the work.

Guldal Aksit, President of the Women’s Branch of the Justice and Development Party, Turkey’s ruling party, held a discussion on women’s issues and the wellbeing of youth with the delegation.

Gu Xiulian also attended the China-Turkey tourism media forum and conferred the Award for Contribution to People’s Friendship upon TCWFCA President Tan Atac and TCFA President Kemal Baytas, and donated US$10,000 to the TCWFCA.

President Omirou of the Cyprus House of Representatives welcomed the delegation by observing that his country enjoyed good relations with China. During a long ago visit to China, Mikhail Khristodolou Mouskos, the first President of Cyprus, had a meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong, he recalled.

In international affairs, the two countries always understood and gave support to each other on major issues of mutual concern. In recent years, China had made impressive progress in economic and technological development, and Cyprus hoped to further promote friendly cooperation in various fields including parliamentary exchanges.

Education Minister George Demosthenes said Cyprus and China should use the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations to strengthen cooperation in education to promote the mutual recognition of higher-education academic certificates and degrees in each other’s countries and the setting up of a Confucius Institute in Cyprus.

Gu Xiulian and her party attended the China-Cyprus Local Governments Experience Exchange Symposium and a banquet celebrating the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, held by the CPAFFC in coordination with the CCFA.

Foreign Minister Erato Kozak Marcoullis was present at the banquet and delivered a speech in which she reviewed the friendly relations between the two countries, thanked China for its support on the Cyprus issue over the years, and reiterated support for the One-China Principle.

She used President Dimitris Christofias’ words “one China, one Cyprus” to describe the mutual support the two countries gave each other on the issue of national unification. She said that, as a member of the European Union enjoying a favorable geographical location, Cyprus was willing to further enhance cooperation with China and help the country expand trade and cooperation relations with the EU.