COLOMBO: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday arrived in Colombo to participate in the three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), beginning tomorrow (Friday).
The CHOGM is a biennial event wherein Commonwealth Heads of Government meet to discuss global and Commonwealth issues. The CHOGM has a special theme: growth with equity-inclusive development.
On his arrival, the prime minister was warmly received by Sri Lanka Freedom Party leader and cabinet minister Nimal Siripala de Silva at the Bandaranaike International Airport.
The delegation which arrived in Colombo along with premier included special assistant to prime minister on foreign affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi‚ minister of state for information technology and telecom Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan and the foreign secretary Jalil Abbasi Jilani.
Pakistan is one of the eight founding members of the Commonwealth, and is steadily enhancing its relations with member states. Pakistan makes annual contributions to five heads of the Commonwealth namely Commonwealth Secretariat ‚ Commonwealth Foundation‚ Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation‚ Commonwealth Youth Programme and the Commonwealth of Learning.
On the sidelines of the summit‚ the prime minister will hold meetings with his Sri Lankan‚ Australian and New Zealand’s counterparts and other leaders to promote bilateral relations.
Many other events like Commonwealth Business Forum‚ Commonwealth People’s Forum and Commonwealth Youth Forum are also being held in connection with the moot.