The MI Director, Dr. Suchat Katima; MI Research Manager, Ms. Maria Theresa Medialda; and MI Executive Assistant/ Marketing Officer, Ms. Pornwilai Pumira arrived in Kunming City, Yunnan Province of China, on Monday, 2 March. This marked the first official visit of the MI Director and MI delegates to China. 

One of the objectives of the visit was to officiate the opening of the regional workshop on Regional Power Interconnection and Trade in the GMS, organized by MI and Yunnan Power Grid Corporation (YNPG). The workshop was supported by Yunnan Provincial Government. 

On the first day of the visit, Dr. Katima co-chaired the opening ceremony of the regional workshop on Regional Power Interconnection and Trade in the GMS, at the Sunshine Golf Club in Kunming City. Ms. Zhu Hong, Director General of Yunnan Foreign Affairs Office (YNFAO); Mr. Jin Cheng, Director General of International Relations Office, YNFAO; Mr.Zhao Bingsong, Vice President of YNPG; and Mr. Cheng Jun, Director of International Relations Department, took part at the opening ceremony. 

On the morning of Tuesday, 3 March, Dr. Katima met with Mr. Suraphan Boonyamanop, Consul-General of The Royal Thai Consulate General, and later visited Yunnan Provincial Chamber of Commerce. He was greeted by Mr. Zhao Zhou, Director of Liaison Department. The topic of discussion was on potential cooperative options for the regional workshop on GMS E-commerce, expected to run from 36 June 2009 in Kunming City. 

That afternoon, Mr. Wang Zehua, Director-General of Yunnan Academy of Science and Technology Development (YLMCO), also an MI Coordinating Agent in Yunnan Province, hosted the meeting, and a dinner in the evening with Dr. Katima and MI delegates. Both organizations presented their learning programs, and discussed possibilities of YLMCO staff joining the MI research team. 

On Wednesday, 4 March, the MI Director made a presentation on Education for Sustainable Development to 19 participants of the SIDA sponsored program on Education and Sustainable Development in Water Resource Management at Yunnan University. 

The MI Director and delegates departed Kunming City for Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the evening of that day.