ISLAMABAD: A comprehensive action plan to celebrate Pakistan-China Friendship year 2011 has been chalked out, focusing on wider interaction between the two countries' leadership and the people through joint activities and exchanges.
According to a mutually agreed plan between Pakistan and China, the rich array of 69 events in diplomatic, cultural and educational areas spans the entire year with an average of five events a month and as many as 14 in May and 12 in November.
The year 2011 was declared as the 'Pak-China Friendship Year' during the recent visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Pakistan, wherein the two governments decided to celebrate 60th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Pak diplomatic relations with full fervor.
January-March:
Salient events in the year's first quarter include holding a forum on Pak-China people-to-people friendship', Chinese Spring Festival on January 27-31, special business forum and nation-wide essay writing competition on Pak-China friendship for school and college students.
Pakistani officials will visit China to participate in Western China International Fair, Urumqi Fair and Kashghar International Fair, while a 100-member Chinese youth delegation is already in Pakistan.
A delegation of Pakistan's print and electronic media will visit China in February while the visit of women parliamentarians will take place in March. A delegation of Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs will visit Pakistan in March.
Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation will organize a special ceremony for airing China Radio International FM programme in Pakistan. The Pakistan Television (PTV) will hold weekly Chinese language classes from March onwards.
April-June:
Besides a leadership level visit from Pakistan to China, the plan's second quarter holds a significant chunk for sports that comprises friendly matches by the cricket teams of Pakistan and China in Islamabad and Lahore, visit of Pakistan's women cricket team to China and a Pak-China Friendship Golf Tournament in April.
Pak-China Business Summit will also be held in the same month.
The cultural activities include a painting and photographic exhibition at Pak-China Friendship Centre along with performances by Chinese arts troupe. Pakistani performing arts troupe will also visit China in May.
Commemorative stamps and a coin will be issued while a book on Pak-China relations will be launched in May.
The Pak-China mountaineering expedition will head to Korakorum heights in June.
July-September:
The two countries will undergo military-to-military exchanges and friendship exercises in August.
A delegation of Pakistan Foreign Office Women Association will visit China in August, whereas the students from Pakistan study centres in Tsinghua University and Sichuan University will also arrive here in the same month.
Workshop on traditional Chinese medicine, a 'Conservation and biodiversity seminar' and a seminar on 'Silk Road and harmonious interaction between civilizations' at Confucius Institute, will be held in Islamabad.
A documentary on travel of Chinese monk Xuanzang to Taxila and impact of Gandhara on Chinese civilization will be telecast by PTV.
In September, the young Chinese diplomats and the Urdu speaking Chinese students and faculty from the South Asian Department of Peking University and Beijing Foreign Studies University, will visit Pakistan.
Chinese hockey team will also visit Pakistan in September.
October-December:
In October, the arts and culture activities include holding of Chinese Film Festival in Islamabad, joint production on film documentary on Pak-China friendship and publication of anthology of poetry translated by Pakistan's first envoy to China Ahmad Ali.
A delegation of Chinese Armed Forces Police Hospital and the China Earthquake Bureau to Pakistan will visit here in October to commemorate Chinese medical missions during Kashmir earthquake (2005) and floods (2010).
In November, the Chinese leadership will visit Pakistan.
The cultural activities in November include photographic exhibition and Pak-China music festival in Islamabad and a performance by Chinese Handicapped Association to China titled 'My Dream' in China.
The students of Chinese language from National University of Modern Languages (NUML) and young Pakistani diplomats will visit China while Chinese celebrities will come to Pakistan.
The third meeting of ECG and the 15th meeting of China- Pakistan Economy and Trade Joint Committee and another China- Pakistan Forum will be held simultaneously in December.
Chinese soccer team and a delegation of Chinese Writers Association will visit Pakistan in late December.
Apart from fixed monthly schedule, the additional packages include running of special friendship train by Pakistan Railways from Rawalpindi to Karachi, while Pakistan International Airlines will arrange special friendship tours between Pakistan and China.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.