Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif leaves for China for four-day visit

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday departed for Hangzhou, China, in the first phase of his four-day visit to promote ties with Beijing and celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Minister of IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja, and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi accompanied the Prime Minister, according to a statement by the PMO.

The Prime Minister will meet with the Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province in Hangzhou and will “participate in a business forum held to promote cooperation between Pakistani and Chinese companies under CPEC Phase 2 and attend the ceremony for the exchange of agreements and memorandums of understanding”.

Additionally, the Prime Minister will hold meetings with CEOs of prominent Chinese companies.

He will also visit the headquarters of the Chinese company Alibaba and participate in the signing ceremony of memoranda of understanding on cooperation.

Thereafter, the Prime Minister will depart for a visit to Beijing, where he will hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

The Prime Minister will also participate in an event held to mark the 75th anniversary of Pakistan-China diplomatic relations.

He will also hold meetings with heads of prominent Chinese companies. The Prime Minister will also visit the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).

The Prime Minister's visit to China will add new dimensions to Pakistan-China relations, particularly including enhanced cooperation with Pakistani and Chinese companies under CPEC Phase 2.

Earlier, the foreign office said on Friday that the prime minister will pay his official visit to China from May 23 to 26.