File photo. Thomas Peter—AFP
In addition to attending opening ceremony of Winter Olympic Games, premier set to engage in several bilateral meetings with Chinese leadership
Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave for China today (Thursday) for a four-day visit that will conclude on Feb. 6 (Sunday), the Foreign Office announced on Wednesday.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit China from Feb. 3-6 to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games,” read a statement issued ahead of the trip. It said that the premier would be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including members of the federal cabinet and senior government officials.
“It is highly admirable that the Chinese government has made meticulous arrangements for holding the Winter Olympic Games despite the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the Foreign Office, noting that in addition to attending the Games, Khan would also hold bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during his trip. The leaders would review the breadth of bilateral relations, with a special focus on boosting trade and economic cooperation, including the China Pakistan Economic Corridor,” it added.
The Foreign Office said several Memoranda of Understandings and agreements would be inked during the visit, adding that the prime minister would meet prominent business leaders of China as well as representatives of leading Chinese think-tanks, academia and the media. Khan is also expected to engage in several bilateral meetings with other visiting foreign dignitaries on the sidelines of the Games.
The statement emphasized that the prime minister’s visit marked the culmination of celebrations commemorating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China. “It would thus renew the bilateral commitment to taking the iron-clad partnership between Pakistan and China to new heights and add impetus to cooperation across multiple domains,” it added.
New heights
On Wednesday, the prime minister chaired a high-level meeting ahead of his upcoming trip and expressed confidence that the visit would take to new heights the strong bilateral relations between Pakistan and China.
During the meeting, the prime minister was given a detailed briefing on projects related to CPEC, Special Economic Zones, trade, information technology and agriculture. The meeting was attended by several federal ministers, including Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Planning Minister Asad Umar and Energy Minister Hammad Azhar. It was also attended by Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, State Minister Farrukh Habib, National Security Adviser Moeed Yousaf, and special assistants Shahbaz Gill and Khalid Mansoor.