The 2012 China-Myanmar Brotherhood Tour kicks off in Yangon, Myanmar, May 14, 2012.[Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

YANGON, Myanmar - The 2012 China-Myanmar Brotherhood Tour kicked off in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, on May 14, it was announced by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE) and the China Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD).

You Jianhua, CNIE's secretary general, said the tour will include a number of events. First, 361 patients in Myanmar will have received free cataract surgery from Chinese doctors by May 16. The medical aid started May 8 and is provided by six ophthalmologists from the First People's Hospital of Yunnan province. It was the second time they were sponsored by CFPD to offer free surgery to Myanmar patients.

Bai Wei, CFPD's vice-secretary general, said apart from providing free surgery and medical supplies, the organization will sign a cooperation agreement with the Myodaw Medical Center in Yangon, Myanmar's capital, to establish the China-Myanmar Eye Treatment Center in the next five years.

The Chinese side will provide equipment, funding, medicine and training experts, while Myanmar will provide free surgery for at least 1,000 cataract patients every year, according to CFPD.

In addition to the medical aid, CNIE will also donate 100 laptops to about 10 local schools in Yangon. Chinese and Myanmar entrepreneurs will discuss business opportunities at a forum organized by CNIE, and Chinese artists and volunteers will put on a performance for a Myanmar audience.