Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake a visit to China from August 30 to September 4 to attend the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State Summit in Tianjin.
According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, the premier will hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang to discuss various aspects of bilateral cooperation.
He will also attend a military parade in Beijing, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the World’s Anti-Fascist War, alongside President Xi and other world leaders.
The prime minister is further scheduled to interact with leading Chinese businessmen and executives to enhance trade, investment, and economic ties, and address the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference in Beijing.
The Foreign Office said the visit is part of high-level exchanges aimed at deepening the “All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership,” advancing the second phase of CPEC, and maintaining regular communication on key regional and global issues.
The three-day important 25th meeting of SCO Heads of States is planned for 31 August, September 1 and 2.
This year’s summit will be the largest since the SCO was founded in 2001, a Chinese foreign ministry official said last week, calling the bloc an “important force in building a new type of international relations”.
Among the attendees at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, set to take place in the northern port city of Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alongside leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
The theme of this year’s meeting will be, “Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move.” The annual event is likely to focus on key discussions on regional security, economic cooperation, trade and the SCO’s long-term strategic direction and way forward.
The security-focused bloc, which began as a group of six Eurasian nations, has expanded to 10 permanent members and 16 dialogue and observer countries in recent years. Its remit has also enlarged from security and counter-terrorism to economic and military cooperation.
