Wen arrives in Islamabad for a 3-day visit
By Zhao Huanxin (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-04-05 22:35

ISLAMABAD -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived at the Pakistani capital Tuesday evening (5:15 pm local time), to start his three-day official visit to the neighbour, which is expected to push bilateral relations to new high.

"Sino-Pak friendship has withstood test of times and international vicissitudes," Wen said upon reaching the Islamabad Chaklala Airbase.

Two Pakistani men look at huge portraits of Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz (R) and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao (L) erected in front of the parliament in Islamabad April 5, 2005. Wen was due to begin his first visit to Pakistan on his maiden South Asian tour as premier. [AFP]

The "all-weather friendship and all-faceted co-operation is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples as well as the peace, stability and development in the region, he said in a written statement delivered to the media.

At press time, the premier is talking with his counterpart Shaukat Aziz, who held a grand welcoming ceremony at the airbase, and will hold a banquet in Wen's honour.

Local officials have widely anticipated a dozen of agreement to be inked during the talks on Tuesday night to expand trade, investment as well as consolidate strategic relations.

The premier flew from late spring in Beijing to early summer of Islamabad to immerse himself in the warmth of Pakistani hospitality. The neighbour rolled out a red-carpet welcome to the Chinese leader.

On a highway across the Islamabad Chaklala Airbase and on the meadow in front of the Presidential Palace stood colossal portraits of Chinese and Pakistani presidents and premiers, with one of a huge banner proclaiming "Sino-Pak friendship is loftier than the mountain and deeper than the ocean."

Faiz Muhammad, assistant director of the Capital Development Authority in Islamabad, yesterday said the city is preparing in the warmest way it could ever do to greet the Chinese guests.

"Pakistan and China are already in very good rapports, and we anticipate the relations to get even better than before," he said.

Ahead of Wen's trip, Salman Bashir, Pakistan's new ambassador to China, said the visit will be another milestone in the history of bilateral relations.

Sino-Pakistan trade soared by 26 per cent year on year to reach a record high of US$3 billion in 2004. The two-way trade increased by 33 per cent through this February to US$450 million, indicated the latest Chinese customs statistics.

Bashir said he anticipated the economic and cultural co-operation between the two sides match the depth of their strong political relations. The ambassador was quoted by Xinhua as saying China's interaction with South Asia is "a factor of peace and
stability in the region and the world."

Pakistan is Premier Wen's first leg of a four-nation South Asian tour, which will also take him to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India through April 12.

The premier is due to address the 4th foreign minister's meeting of the Asia Co-operation Dialogue, which is scheduled to open in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Wen's three-day agenda also includes meetings with Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf and other leaders on Wednesday, and a trip to Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city and a cultural and educational centre, late on Wednesday.

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