PM to attend Belt & Road Forum in China on Oct 17-18

Celina Ali

Islamabad: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar will visit China to participate in the ‘Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation’, being held in Beijing from October 17-18, the Foreign Office said Thursday. The prime minister is undertaking the visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Foreign Office spokesperson said at a weekly press briefing. Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said PM Kakar would attend the opening ceremony of the BRF and address the high-level forum titled ‘Connectivity in an Open Global Economy’ on October 18.

The prime minister during his stay in China will hold bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese leaders and other foreign dignitaries attending the Forum, she said. The prime minister, she said, would also meet the leading Chinese entrepreneurs to expand bilateral trade and investment. He will also visit Urumqi, Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China to meet with local leaders and businesspersons, aiming to enhance trade, investment and people-to-people relations, the spokesperson said.

“The visit of the prime minister comes in the backdrop of the ongoing celebrations marking the ten years of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative,” Baloch said. “The prime minister will highlight the key achievements and the future priorities of CPEC, and reaffirm Pakistan’s strong commitment to jointly promote its high-quality development,” she said.