Various MoUs likely during PM’s China visit starting tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The upcoming visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to China starting on Tuesday (tomorrow) will open up avenues of economic and trade ties between the two countries, a senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office told The News on Sunday.

The official said the visit on the invitation of President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang would help promote economic and trade ties at government-to-government level and between private sectors of the two countries, particularly in the field of energy and IT sectors. He said various memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and agreements were likely to be signed during the prime minister’s current visit. The PM will meet corporate executives of leading Chinese companies in fuel, energy and also address Pakistan-China Business Forum. The PM would meet entrepreneurs and investment from both countries.

He will visit the cities of Beijing, Xian and Shenzhen. He will meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing and hold “delegation-level talks” with Premier Qiang. He will meet the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and the heads of key government departments.

Keeping in view importance of visit, the PM also chaired a meeting on Friday to work out the necessary details. He was briefed that on his visit to Shenzhen, a delegation of industrialists, investors and entrepreneurs from Pakistan would accompany him. The delegation would meet the Chinese business community and promote business-to-business relations between both countries.

The PM said, “Pakistan government will provide all possible facilities to Chinese industrialists and investors.”

Sources said the PM would be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ministers for Energy, Petroleum, IT, Information and Broadcasting, Planning and Development and senior bureaucrats of ministries concerned.