ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will visit China in the first week of November 2022 on the invitation of the Chinese President Xi Jingping, the Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif said.
The invitation was extended when the two leaders held a bilateral meeting on September 16 on the sidelines of the 22nd SCO Council of Heads of State in Samarkand City of Uzbekistan.
President Xi Jingping told Shahbaz Sharif in the meeting that he was looking forward to his visit to China at an early date.
While addressing a News Conference in Islamabad on Saturday, Khawaja Asif said that the Russian President Vladimir Putin has also invited Prime Shahbaz Sharif Minister to visit Moscow and that will also take place.
The defence minister said that during his meeting with Shahbaz Sharif, the Chinese president recognized him as an efficient and pragmatic leader, and expressed the commitment to vigorously take forward the CPEC project. He said that Xi Jinping described Pakistan as an all-weather strategic friend.
Shahbaz Sharif also held a sideline meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand on September 15.
Khawaja Asif said that talking to the prime minister, Vladimir Putin appreciated Pakistan’s position on Ukraine. He said that Russia has shown willingness to export wheat and gas to Pakistan.
The minister said that the SCO Members have expressed readiness to support and cooperate with Pakistan faced with the unprecedented floods.
