100 MEMBER YOUTH DELEGATION LEAVES FOR CHINA ON SUNDAY

The Fourth Indo-China Youth delegation will be visiting China from 15^th to 24^th June, 2009 under Indo –China Youth Exchange Programme to further foster and enhance the continued youth-to-youth contact between the two countries and consolidate our long-standing bilateral relations over 55 years. Shri Arun Yadav, Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports will lead the 100 member Indian delegation. During their ten day stay in China, the delegation will visit Beijing, Chengdu and Guangzhou.

In view of the forthcoming Commonwealth Games 2010, in New Delhi , the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has finalized this year the Indian Youth delegation with an objective to get an exposure to the Volunteers Programme in China, where large number of volunteers were recruited and trained to handle the international visitors and also for the actual conduct of the international events like the Beijing Olympics, World Expo and similar International Events. The Chinese side has welcomed this Ministry’s proposal to utilize the visit to learn about the volunteers’ programme in China. To facilitate this ,they will be arranging appropriate visits and interactions for the delegation and the accompanying officials in the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou (the venue of Asian Games next year) and Sichuan – the first two are places where volunteers will be mobilized for mega international events, while the third is where volunteers played important role in relief and rehabilitation after the massive Wenchuanearthquake last year. The places to be visited in China by the delegation shall meet the objectives for exposing the youths for the volunteers’ programme to be utilized for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, 2010.

The 100-member Indian Youth Delegation, 2009 will comprise of 94 volunteers from National Service Scheme(NSS), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan(NYKS), Cultural Artistes (National Youth Festival Winners), Distinguished Young Journalists and distinguished Students of Chinese Language as Interpreters and five officials .

Courtesy: Press Information Bureau, Government of India