The plaque unveiling ceremony for the Afro-Asian Council of Ophthalmology Asia Office (AACO-AO) was held in Guangzhou's Yuexiu district on Aug 6.

Established and based in Egypt since 1958, AACO is the oldest and most well-established supranational organization concerned with the advances of ophthalmology in Afro-Asian countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, and China.

Lin Haotian, director of AACO-AO, said that the office will become an important service institution in health sciences in Yuexiu district. It will strive to be an international platform integrating international innovative ophthalmology technologies, promoting international communication and cooperation, boosting the transformation of scientific research achievements, as well as clustering industrial resources in health sciences.

AACO-AO will set up a think tank to gather youth talents in ophthalmology, as well as devote efforts in setting up an effective communication mechanism for youths from Africa, Asia, and the whole world.

In addition, AACO-AO will make full use of the resources from the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-Sen University to accelerate the construction of the center for the research and development, as well as the application of treatments and diagnosis featuring internet and artificial intelligence technologies.

It is also expected to increase the level of oculopathy prevention and treatment in China, as well as promote the development of ophthalmology in countries alongside the Belt and Road.