On May 6, 2011, President JIA Jinsheng of International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) met President Refaat Abdel-Malek of International Hydropower Association (IHA) in Beijing.

Dr. JIA warmly welcomed Dr. Abdel-Malek for his visit and then expressed his thanks for the invitation to attend the IHA World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower, to be held in Iguassu, Brazil, on June 14-17, 2011. He also delivered his warm invitation for Dr. Abdel-Malek to the 79^th ICOLD Annual Meeting, to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland, on May 29 - June 3, 2011.

Dr. Abdel-Malek expressed his gratitude for the great hospitality and gleefully accepted the invitation to the 79^th ICOLD Annual Meeting. He reviewed the past happy cooperation with ICOLD and briefly introduced the recent programs of IHA, looking forward to further cooperation with ICOLD.

Both sides had an in-depth exchange and discussion on the issues of common concerns, including measures for addressing climate change, sustainable dam construction and hydropower development, position papers for answering public questions, World Declaration on Dams and Hydropower for African Sustainable Development, World Water Council, etc. The meeting deepened the bilateral friendship and enhanced mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields in the future.