Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to Qatar and attend the seventh ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum on May 12, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing that Wang will discuss with his Arab counterparts and the secretary-general of the Arab League how to jointly advance the Belt and Road Initiative and deepen Sino-Arab strategic cooperation, and exchange views on international and regional issues of common concern.

The attendants will also settle on cooperation plans for the coming two years, Lu added.

He said the meeting, the first high-level political dialogue between China and the Arab countries since President Xi Jinping's visit to the Middle East earlier this year, will "boost dialogue and cooperation, and facilitate forum building."

This year is the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Arab world.

Wang will also pay an official visit to Tunisia on May 13 and 14.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2016)