ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif left for China on Friday for a six-day long visit to attend the ‘Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation’ being held in Beijing on May 14-15.
The prime minister is accompanied by a high level delegation including Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervaiz Khattak and Chief Minister Balochistan Sanaullah Zehri.
Besides, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Commerce Minister Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, State Minister for IT Anusha Rehman, Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz are also accompanying the prime minister.
His visit is being undertaken at the invitation of the Chinese President Xi Jinping
The Belt and Road Forum is part of the “Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (OBOR) initiative launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013.
The Belt and Road Forum is being attended by 27 other Heads of State/Government. It is aimed at promoting common development through win-win cooperation. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the flagship program of OBOR.
The forum will comprise a High Level Dialogue and Leaders’ Roundtable. The prime minister will address the High Level Dialogue as well as both the sessions of Leader’s Roundtable.
A Joint Communiqué will be issued at the conclusion of the Belt and Road Forum. The prime minister will be one of the three leaders to speak at the concluding session.
Besides attending the Belt and Road Forum, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
A number of Agreements/ Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) related to CPEC projects are also expected to be signed on the occasion.
The prime minister will also hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines with several other Heads of State/ Government attending the Forum.
During his stay in China, the prime minister will also visit Hangzhou and Hong Kong where he will interact with business leaders and attend investment conferences.
