ISLAMABAD: Chinese Premier Li Qiang will embark upon a four-day visit to the federal capital on Monday (today), where he will discuss various matters of mutual interest with Pakistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
“The Chinese dignitary is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and will stay in the country from October 14-17,” a statement released by Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.
The Foreign Office added PM Qiang would be accompanied by ministers and senior officials including from the ministries of foreign affairs and commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and the China International Development Cooperation Agency.
“PM Sharif and Premier Qiang will lead their respective delegations to comprehensively discuss all aspects of Pakistan-China relations including economic and trade ties and cooperation under the China Pakistan Economic Cooperation (CPEC). The two sides will also discuss regional and global developments,” the statement read.
The Chinese premier will call on President Asif Ali Zardari and hold meetings with parliamentary leaders and senior military leadership of Pakistan. He will also attend the SCO meeting in Islamabad.
The Foreign Office said Qiang’s visit to Islamabad was an expression of the importance attached by Pakistan and China to their “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership”.“It will be an occasion for the two sides to reaffirm mutual support on issues of core interest; advance high-quality development of CPEC; and reinforce regular exchanges on important regional and global developments,” it stated.
Islamabad is set to host the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting with major foreign leaders on October 15 and 16. According to Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, PM Sharif will preside over the CHG meeting as the current chair.
Besides the Chinese premier, premiers of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as the first vice president of Iran and external affairs minister of India will visit Pakistan to represent their respective SCO member states.
Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar said on Sunday the Chinese prime minister’s visit and the SCO summit would prove to be a game changer for Pakistan. He said good progress was being made in the multi-billion-dollar CPEC’s second phase.
The minister added that Islamabad had been decorated for the SCO, which would promote economic and regional ties.“Bilateral meetings of heads of state will be held on the sidelines of the SCO summit,” Tarar said.
Meanwhile, PM Sharif on Sunday expressed his deep grief over the death of Wu Bangguo, former chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and former vice premier of China.Remembering him as an “outstanding” leader and a “true friend of Pakistan”, he said the late Bangguo made a profound contribution to strengthening bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and China.
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