The two-day 15th Straits Forum will be held in Fujian Province on the Chinese mainland from Friday, and the main conference is scheduled to commence on Saturday with the primary venue set up in the coastal city of Xiamen, according to a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Individuals from various backgrounds in the Taiwan region will participate in the forum, including representatives from political parties, co-sponsors of the event, professionals from different industries, and members of religious circles, said the spokesperson Zhu Fenglian.

A total of 51 events will take place during this forum, focusing on promoting cultural and economic exchanges and communication among the youth and people at the primary level across the Taiwan Straits.

This year's forum, co-hosted by 84 institutions from both sides of the straits, will offer more than 1,200 jobs and 1,000 internship and training opportunities to young people from the Taiwan region. 

It aims to foster cooperation across diverse sectors, such as rural revitalization and entrepreneurship among young people from Taiwan, as well as industries encompassing science, education, culture and finance, said the spokesperson.

Starting from 2009 in Fujian, the forum is the largest annual event across the Taiwan Straits and focuses on people-to-people exchanges. 

As per reports before the 14th Straits Forum in 2022, hundreds of policies have been issued to bring tangible benefits to Taiwan compatriots and Taiwan-funded enterprises over the previous 13 forums, including cross-Straits personnel exchanges and communication, economic cooperation, culture and education, social life, protection of rights and interests.

"Recently, many young people in Taiwan have asked me to sign up for the event, and I can feel their eagerness to participate in the forum," said Wu Chia-ying, director of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce in the coastal city of Xiamen, who said he had participated in the forum no less than 10 times.

"The Straits Forum was held as scheduled, which once again strongly demonstrates that the mainland has long adhered to the conviction that people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are of the same family and the mainland has continued to promote the peaceful and integrated development of cross-Straits relations," he noted.