REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NANNING -- Indonesia has for the first time been included in the route of the China-ASEAN International Touring Assembly (CAITA Rally) scheduled to start from Nanning, China, on Monday.
CAITA Rally 2015 executive chief Thomas Ma said here on Sunday participants of the rally were expected to arrive on Batam island in the Indonesian province of Riau Islands on September 18.
"For the first time participants of the rally would stop in Indonesia, on the island of Batam. Participants seemed very enthusiastic, moreover many of them have never been to Batam," he said.
CAITA Rally is an annual event held as part of efforts to deepen the relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries.
The event that was started in 2006 is organized by the Chinese Office of Sports and the Guangxi province.
Like in the years before the start and the finish will be in Nanning, which is the capital of Guangxi.
More than 200 participants of the car rally would drive through China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
The participants generally represent ASEAN member countries and a number of provinces in China.
Nurdin Purnomo, the participant from Indonesia, said he hoped the inclusion of Batam into the rally route could promote Indonesia and ASEAN.
"There are a lot of historical and tourism locations in Batam that are interesting and we will introduce them to the participants," Nurdin who is also a member of the honorary council of the Federation of Indonesian Recreational Sports Community (FORMI) said.
From Batam participants of the rally would proceed to Singapore and arrive back in Nanning at the end of September.
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