Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will visit Sri Lanka from September 9 to 10 at the invitation of his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollagama, Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday in a statement.

"The Chinese Foreign Minister will hold bilateral official talks with Minister Bogollagama. He is also scheduled to pay courtesy calls on President Mahinda Rajapakse and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake during his stay in Sri Lanka," said the statement.

This will be Yang's first visit to Sri Lanka since he took office in April 2007, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said last Tuesday in Beijing.

Jiang said China and Sri Lanka were traditional and friendly neighbors. Bilateral ties had continually progressed since the forging of diplomatic ties, featured with frequent high-level visits.

China is ready to work with Sri Lanka to continue pushing forward the neighborly cooperation, in a bid to further promote the bilateral comprehensive and cooperative partnership, Jiang said.

The Chinese foreign minister will come to Sri Lanka after his visit to India from September 7 to 9.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2008)