<p>Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is likely to have a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan, according to a media report on Wednesday.</p>.<p>President Xi is expected to attend the SCO summit scheduled for September 15 and September 16 in Samarkand, <em>The Express Tribune</em> reported.</p>.<p>Pakistan is part of the SCO which also includes China, Russia, India and the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.</p>.<p>A bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Shehbaz is on the cards at the sidelines of the SCO summit, sources were quoted as saying by the <em>Express Tribune</em>.</p>.<p>However, there is no official clarity on whether President Xi will attend the summit in person.</p>.<p>Some reports suggest that he may attend the summit virtually because of the strict Covid-19 protocols, the report said.</p>.<p>The sources also said that Pakistan was exploring options for a possible bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Shehbaz.</p>.<p>However, nothing is final yet, the sources added.</p>.<p>In an informal meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov invited his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to visit Moscow.</p>
<p>Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is likely to have a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan, according to a media report on Wednesday.</p>.<p>President Xi is expected to attend the SCO summit scheduled for September 15 and September 16 in Samarkand, <em>The Express Tribune</em> reported.</p>.<p>Pakistan is part of the SCO which also includes China, Russia, India and the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.</p>.<p>A bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Shehbaz is on the cards at the sidelines of the SCO summit, sources were quoted as saying by the <em>Express Tribune</em>.</p>.<p>However, there is no official clarity on whether President Xi will attend the summit in person.</p>.<p>Some reports suggest that he may attend the summit virtually because of the strict Covid-19 protocols, the report said.</p>.<p>The sources also said that Pakistan was exploring options for a possible bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Shehbaz.</p>.<p>However, nothing is final yet, the sources added.</p>.<p>In an informal meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov invited his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to visit Moscow.</p>