SAMARKAND: Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a productive meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)’s head of States Summit here Friday The meeting first confirmed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in a statement, elucidating the conversation between PM Shehbaz and President Xi Jinping as they met on the sidelines of the SCO.
During the meeting, the statement said, Xi pointed out that China and Pakistan were close neighbors “linked by mountains and rivers and with a shared future”.
The two countries have all along stood with each other through thick and thin. No matter how the international situation evolves, China and Pakistan are always each other’s trustworthy strategic partners, the statement quoted Xi as saying.
The statement said China will work with Pakistan to advance its all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and accelerate the building of a closer community with a shared future between the two countries in the new era.
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 is important to expand cooperation in such areas as industry, agriculture, science, technology and social welfare to create new impetus for the CPEC’s development.”
It added that China hopes 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”.
The statement said the two sides needed to enhance communication and collaboration within the United Nations, the SCO and other multilateral platforms “to voice the developing countries’ rightful opposition to bloc confrontation and commitment to multilateralism”.
According to the statement PM Shehbaz expressed appreciation to the Chinese side for timely and valuable support by China as Pakistan has been affected by the current floods.
He noted that President Xi was a leader of “strategic foresight”, saying China had secured “great achievements in its development and made important contributions to peace and development in the region and the wider world”.
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, the statement added.
The PM assured the Chinese president that Pakistan will make its best efforts to protect the security of Chinese citizens and institutions in Pakistan, continue its active participation in the Belt and Road cooperation and make CPEC a model of mutually beneficial cooperation.
Later, the relevant departments of the two countries also signed documents on cooperation in railway, e-commerce and other areas of mutual interest.
Separately, the Prime Minister’s Office also tweeted about the bilateral meeting, saying the Chinese President described PM Shehbaz as “a person of pragmatism and efficiency” and a leader with “a longstanding commitment to China-Pakistan friendship”.
In a tweet later in the day, the Defence Minister said that PM Shehbaz had “very successful” talks with Putin and Xi. “Both of them have officially invited Shehbaz Sharif to visit their countries. The prime minister has accepted both invitations. There will be a visit to China in November 2022,” the Defence Minister confirmed. –Agencies
