Senior Chinese diplomat meets speaker of Arab Parliament

BEIJING, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, met with the speaker of the Arab Parliament Adel Al Asoomi on Tuesday in Beijing.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China is willing to work with Arab countries to firmly support each other, deepen pragmatic cooperation, and enhance exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. He extended congratulatory greetings to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on becoming full members of the BRICS group.

Wang stressed that the future and destiny of the Middle East should be in the hands of regional countries and people. China supports an early, fair and reasonable settlement of the Palestinian issue, he noted.

Adel Al Asoomi said the Arab side regards China as a reliable strategic partner, highly appreciates and supports the series of important initiatives put forward by China, and is willing to push bilateral relations to a new level.