The Minister of Defense, Andre Flahaut, goes the next week in official visit to China and Mongolia, a country with which it will conclue a military cooperation agreement.

The visit of Mr. Flahaut in Peking will be the second of a Belgian Minister of Defense, after that of its precedessor Jean-pol Poncelet in October 1997.

Meanwhile, Belgium opened a station of military attachÈ in the Chinese capital - just like in close Vietnam. The minister, who flies away Saturday afternoon in direction of Asia, must in particular meet Monday in Peking with his Chinese counterpart, the General Chi Haotian, and give a conference Tuesday to the national University of Defense, within which a Belgian officer has been a trainee for a few weeks. He will also go in Xian (northern) and Shanghai, the economic capital of China, where he will visit Thursday a naval base. From Friday to Sunday, Mr. Flahaut will be in Ulan-Bator, the capital of Mongolia. He will meet there president Natsagiin Bagabandi of Mongalia, the Prime Minister Nambariyn Enkbayar, and the Minister for Defense, the General Jugderdemidiin Gurragcha - a former cosmonaut who accomplished a space flight of almost eight days, in March 1981, at the time of the Soviet mission Soyuz 39. Belgium and Mongolia must sign on this occasion an outline agreement ("Memorandum of Understanding ", MoU) of military co-operation.

M. Flahaut must do, at the time a visit at a military hospital, to offer medical material to the Mongolian authorities. Both in Peking and in Oulan-Bato, the talks will relate to the possibilities of military co-operation, the fight against terrorism and the international situation like on the evolutions in progress within NATO and of the European Union.

Translation ( french to english ) done by Google.

[Edited on 27-10-2002 by ultra_phoenix]

"Translation ( french to english ) done by Google. "

that would explain the botched grammer. still, pretty good ....

anyway, "hoorah for the belgians!" i say.

- qo.

And me I say : " Down the Belgians "

Oups....I'm Belgian.