Fifth ministerial meeting of FOCAC to open in Beijing

BEIJING - The fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will be held from July 19 to 20 in Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday.

Spokesman Hong Lei made the announcement at a regular press conference.

Foreign ministers and ministers for foreign economic cooperation from China and 50 African countries, as well as African Union (AU) Commission Chairman Jean Ping, will attend the conference, according to Hong.

The conference will review the implementation of follow-up activities from the fourth ministerial conference of the FOCAC in 2009, as well as examine and adopt the "Beijing Declaration" and "Beijing Action Plan (2013-2015)" to define new cooperative programs to be undertaken over the next three years, Hong said.

The FOCAC is a collective consultation and dialogue mechanism between China and African countries launched in 2000.