Pakistan published in Islamabad Thursday the first-ever Urdu version of the Analects of Confucius in the world.

Some 200 officials, writers, poets and students from both China and Pakistan were present at the launching ceremony in the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL).

In his welcome address, PAL Chairman Iftikhar Arif said that Confucius was a great master and thinker, whose teachings and instructions have played an important role in the development of the Chinese culture.

Before Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Pakistan last November, Arif said, the PAL started to translate the Analects of Confucius from English to Urdu to reflect the Pakistanis' affection to the Chinese people and culture.

In his speech, Chinese Ambassador Luo Zhaohui said the Urdu versions of the Analects of Confucius, the Selection from the Chinese Poetry, and the Selection from the Chinese Literature published today would add new symbolics to the Sino-Pak friendship.

The Chinese ambassador hoped that writers and poets from China and Pakistan would publish more and better writings to root the two countries' traditional friendship deeper into the hears of the peoples.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2007)