Dear Colleagues,

It is our honour to invite psychopharmacologists around the world to attend the XXVII Congress of the CINP to be held in Hong Kong, China. While previous CINP regional meetings have taken place in Asia this is only the second biennial congress to be held outside of North America and Europe. The event thus symbolises the international role of CINP to promote the highest level of scientific exchange in a rapidly globalising world. The congress will allow senior and junior psychopharmacology researchers from Europe and North America to acquaint themselves with the rapidly increasing numbers of talented investigators in China and other Asian nations. Moreover, the XXVII CINP congress will include programme topics such as ethics of clinical trials, conflict of interest in psychopharmacology development, and development of nutriceuticals in addition to the traditional CINP programme.

Hong Kong is a highly developed international city with cultural opportunities and a friendly population with English speakers widely distributed. Moreover, it is a gateway to China, whose scientists will participate in the congress and with whom pre and post congress satellites are lanned. Opportunities to tour China, Japan, Korea and other rapidly developing centres of psychopharmacology research will be made available to delegates at several different price levels. Since Hong Kong has direct air connections to almost every world capital it is expected that competitive air charters will enhance the ease of attending our congress. Moreover, special efforts are planned to allow young scientists and students to attend. Two billion people live within a short flight from Hong Kong. The 2010 congress in Hong Kong will be, for many CINP members, a turning point to allow the development of fruitful collaboration with Chinese and other Asian psychopharmacology partners.

We look forward to greeting you at the XXVII congress of the CINP in 2010 in Hong Kong, the gateway to Asian psychopharmacology.