Home Latest News P.M. Sharif to Visit China in November: Khawaja Asif

P.M. Sharif to Visit China in November: Khawaja Asif

Defense minister says premier has also accepted an invite from President Putin to visit Russia

by Staff Report

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan P.M. Shehbaz Sharif in Samarkand

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China on the invitation of President Xi Jinping in November, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif announced on Friday.

In a posting on Twitter from Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where a high-level delegation led by the prime minister has been attending a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Asif said Sharif had held “very successful” talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. “Both leaders have officially invited Shehbaz Sharif to visit their countries,” he said, adding that both invites had been accepted.

“[The prime minister] will visit China in November,” he said, but did not give any further details on when the Russian visit might occur.

According to an official statement from the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry, Xi and Sharif discussed their countries’ “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” and vowed to build closer ties to enable a prosperous shared future for the neighboring nations. “President Xi stressed that the two sides must continue to firmly support each other, foster stronger synergy between their development strategies, and harness the role of the Joint Cooperation Committee of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to ensure smooth construction and operation of major projects,” it said, adding he had also offered to expand cooperation in areas such industry, agriculture, science, technology and social welfare.

“China hopes that Pakistan will provide solid protection for the security of Chinese citizens and institutions in Pakistan as well as the lawful rights and interests of Chinese businesses,” it said, noting the president had also commended Islamabad’s role in actively supporting the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative. “The two sides need to enhance communication and collaboration within the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other multilateral platforms to voice the developing countries’ rightful opposition to bloc confrontation and commitment to multilateralism,” it added.

The prime minister, meanwhile, appreciated China’s help to Pakistan amidst unprecedented floods. Stressing that the people of Pakistan held President Xi in high esteem, he described China as an eternal friend of Pakistan and wished the upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party complete success. “Pakistan is firmly committed to the one-China policy, and firmly supports China’s position on issues concerning its core interests including Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong,” it said, adding he had pledged to ensure the security of Chinese citizens and institutions in Pakistan, continue active participation in CPEC and further expand bilateral ties.

Separately, the readout of Putin’s meeting with Sharif says the two leaders discussed the Pakistan Steam Gas Pipeline project and vowed to work toward its completion.

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