Twenty officials have arrived in the Chinese capital from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to take part in a two-week course on poverty reduction that began on Friday.

The officials will be briefed on China's social and economic development policies and its experience and achievements in poverty reduction.

The training course will look at rural development and poverty in south Asian countries, strategies Asian countries can adopt to cope with regional economic integration, and methods of managing and supervising poverty reduction funds.

The officials will also travel to Chongqing Municipality in southwest China to visit poverty reduction programs.

Kailash Raj Pokharel, a section officer from the Nepalese Ministry of Finance, said he wants to understand how China was able to reduce poverty so quickly and compare the two countries' ideas about poverty reduction.

The Seminar on Poverty Policy and Practice for South Asian Countries opened Friday morning reflects the Chinese government's commitment to enhance cooperation with south Asian nations on poverty reduction.

At the 14th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held this April, then Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said China was willing to discuss the establishment of poverty reduction cooperation mechanisms with south Asian countries.

Wang Guoliang, deputy director of the State Council Leading Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development, the spearhead of China's poverty reduction efforts, said the seminar will help the officials learn more about China's successful experience in poverty reduction, increase their policy-making capabilities and consolidate China's cooperative partnership with south Asian nations.

The International Poverty Reduction Center in China, host of the seminar, has provided special training courses for 117 senior and middle-ranking officials from 51 developing countries across the world since it was established in 2005.

Source: Xinhua