An international symposium was held in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, from October 12 to 13 on the topic of solar energy use in developing countries.

The International Symposium on Solar Energy in Developing Countries(ISSEDC) was attended by experts and officials from over 20 developing countries, including China, Pakistan, Egypt and Nigeria.

The purpose of the meeting is to share experience on development of solar energy and renewable energy, and to strengthen international exchange and cooperation.

"Developing solar energy is a complex and systematic project which calls for multilateral and bilateral cooperation," said ZhaoYongli, director of the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges.

China has become a new training center for technical personnel of solar energy utilization in developing countries. To date, the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Center for Solar Energy, which is located in Yuzhong County of Lanzhou, has trained nearly 500 solar energy specialists from 72 countries.

The symposium was jointly organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization(UNDIO), UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, and China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges.

The symposium produced a Lanzhou Declaration Thursday, providing suggestions for developing countries in the field of future solar energy cooperation.

(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2005)