Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will leave for a two-day visit to China today at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, said the Foreign Office in a statement on Friday.
“On the invitation of the State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will visit China from 23-24 July,” read the statement. It added that the foreign minister will be accompanied by senior officials.
Pakistan’s top diplomat, during the visit, will focus on “further deepening of bilateral relations”, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), defence and security cooperation, COVID-19 vaccines, counter-terrorism and regional and international issues.
There’s no mention of Dasu incident in which nine ChInese national were killed after which Prime Minster Imran Khan had directed the interior and foreign ministers to visit China.
The FO said that Qureshi’s visit would play an important role in further strengthening Islamabad and Beijing’s “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership”, and will expand the “strategic communication and coordination” of Pakistan with China on various issues.
The visit comes as Pakistan and China celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The FO said that over 100 events had been planned out of which more than 60 events have already been held.
“These celebrations have immensely contributed to injecting a fresh vigour and warmth in the traditional friendship,” said the statement.
The FO reiterated that Pakistan and China are the closest friends and staunch partners, adding that the time-tested relationship is “based on unparalleled mutual trust, understanding and commonality of interests”.
It also said that both sides are fully committed to building a closer China-Pakistan community of shared future.
