On behalf of the Afro-Asian Council of Ophthalmology and the Chinese Ophthalmological Society, we are honored to invite you to attend the 17th Afro-Asian Congress of Ophthalmology (AACO) in Xi' an, China, 17-21 September 2014.

China organized the 12th AACO in Guangzhou in the year 2000. During the past 14 years the ophthalmic clinics and researches have made great progress in Asian and African countries, including China. This time we are brought together again at the platform of AACO, meeting new and old friends, sharing precious ideas, and experiencing China' s great change.

The Afro-Asian Council of Ophthalmology is the oldest supranational ophthalmological organization that concerns with delivering the most advanced science of ophthalmology. The Chinese Ophthalmological Society is proud to host the congress and will try the best to bring all the attendees to the latest developments in varied subfields of ophthalmology. Moreover, the 19th Congress of Chinese Ophthalmological Society (COS) will have open access to all the AACO participants. The COS Congress, as the most important ophthalmic meeting in China covering 11 ophthalmic fields with over 7000 attendees, will have both Chinese and English slides for the convenience.

Xi' an is the one of the oldest cities in China with more than 3100 years history. The Terracotta Army is located here, along with many other world-famous historical sites. As the starting point of the Silk Road in the ancient time, Xi' an will surely connect Africa, Asia and the world in scientific field this time.

We strongly believe that this meeting will contribute to clinics and researches of ophthalmological science especially for African and Asian people and to the good and close relationship between us. We also sincerely welcome colleagues from all over the world, to make the meeting more prosperous.

We look forward to seeing you in the charming city of Xi' an.