At the invitation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mme. Li Xiaolin, President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Honorable Chairman of the China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development, attended the Global Vaccine Summit held in Abu Dhabi between April 24 and 25. The Summit was jointly initiated by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and Bill Gates. About 200 people, including senior government officials from 46 countries, representatives of international organizations and NGOs, were invited to the summit. The goals of the Summit is to celebrate global commitment to immunization, starting with polio eradication, to highlight the critical links between ending polio, strengthening routine immunization, and improving overal child health, and to profile Islamic leadership in improving child health and ensuring all children are immunized.
During the Summit, Mme. Li introduced the great achievements made by China in eradicating polio and establishing a comprehensive immunization system, and shared China''s experiences with other countries. Mme. Li also discussed with Mr. Bill Gates on the possible cooperation between the China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the future.