The annual session of the Third World Academy of Sciences is slated for Oct. 16 to 19 in the Chinese capital, and more than 500 delegates including Nobel laureates are expected to attend.

With the theme of "Science and Development," the 14th convention will probe into strategies of promoting sciences in developing countries, according to Chen Zhu, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who said the organizing committee kept the one-year preparation work on track despite the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome earlier this year.

This year is the 20th founding anniversary of the Third World Academy of Sciences. The non-governmental and non-profit organization was founded in November 1983 with its headquarters in Trieste, Italy, and usually holds its convention once a year.

The academy aims to increase exchanges between scientists and scientific institutions in the developing countries and promote development and research of sciences in developing countries. It has a total of 626 member scientists from 77 countries and regions, and 89 members come from China.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2003)