At the invitation of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunge of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the Republic of India, Premier Wen Jiabao will pay official visits to the above four countries from April 5 to 12 and attend the opening ceremony of the 4th Asian Cooperation Dialogue Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Islamabad on April 6 and deliver a keynote speech.

Premier Wen Jiabao's four-nation tour to South Asia is an important part of diplomatic activities carried out by Chinese leaders to neighboring regions, which are aimed at enhancing mutual trust with South Asian nations, deepening friendship, expanding cooperation and making a good plan for the future in the principle of "being a good partner and neighbor". Premier Wen will hold talks and meetings with leaders of these four nations and exchange in-depth views on further strengthening friendly cooperative relations with these countries and on issues of common concern.

Both South Asian nations and China are located in Asia. China and South Asian nations have maintained long-term good-neighborly relations. Both sides have broad consensus on maintaining global peace and promoting common development. It is believed that the visit will uplift the friendly cooperative relations between China and four South Asian nations to a new level.