On August 14, 2007, Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Bishkek at the beginning of a state visit to the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, where he will also attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

At 12:30 local time (14:30 Beijing time), Hu Jintao's special plane arrived at the Manas International Airport in Bishkek, where he was warmly welcomed by Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev and other officials.

In a written statement issued upon arrival, Hu said China and Kyrgyzstan are linked by common mountains and rivers and the friendship between the two peoples dates back to hundreds of years ago. Fruitful results have been scored in bilateral cooperation in political, economic, transportation, humanistic, security and other areas since the two countries established diplomatic ties 15 years ago, Hu said. The two countries have comprehensively resolved their border issue left over from history and cooperated closely in the SCO, the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral frameworks. Both sides have also offered mutual support on major principled issues concerning their sovereignty and territorial integrity, thus safeguarding their common interests and guaranteeing the smooth development of bilateral good-neighborly and friendly cooperation, Hu said.

Hu said he and Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev would focus their talks on reviewing the past development of friendly relations between their two countries, summarizing successful experience in their cooperation and mapping out the future of China-Kyrgyzstan ties. "We will also exchange views on a number of regional and global issues of common interest," he said. Hu expressed belief that with joint efforts of both sides, this visit will surely be successful and China-Kyrgyzstan good-neighborly and friendly cooperation will be pushed to a new level.

Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and other accompanying officials arrived by the same plane.

Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Zhang Yannian and other embassy staff also welcomed the Chinese delegation at the airport.

During his stay in Bishkek, Hu will also attend the 7th Session of the Council of Heads of States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek to be held on August 16 and meet with leaders of relevant countries on the sidelines of the summit.

At this SCO summit, leaders of the member states will discuss the organization's achievements since the 2006 Shanghai summit, work out plans for future cooperation on security, economy, culture and foreign affairs and exchange views on key international and regional issues. Leaders of the six member countries will sign a series of important documents including a long-term good-neighbor treaty of friendship and cooperation.

The SCO, founded in June 2001, consists of six member countries -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Iran are observer countries of the organization.

Kyrgyzstan is the first leg of Hu's three-nation tour. He will also observe a joint anti-terror drill in Chelyabinsk, Russia along with the other SCO leaders and pay a state visit to Kazakhstan.