Chinese PM due in last week of March

ISLAMABAD: Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang will be chief guest in Pakistan Day’s magnificent armed services parade on 23rd of March here in federal capital.
He has been invited to undertake visit by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and accordingly he has accepted it. He will be here in the last week of this month. It is likely that at least twelve bilateral agreements with regard to economic and trade ties of the two countries will be inked during his presence.
The ministries concerned have been asked to accelerate work giving final touch to the agreements. Highly placed diplomatic sources told The News here Wednesday that the Chinese premier who is undertaking maiden visit to Pakistan after assuming the office one year ago would be witnessing the parade where Pakistan will display few most sophisticated weapons of its arsenal including the fly-past of upgraded JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter plane that has been developed by Pakistan and China through technological cooperation. The upgraded tanks which have not been made public as yet and Pakistan’s own developed Drone plane will also be shown to the world on the auspicious occasion.
Prime Minister Li Keqiang is known for his extremely favourable disposition towards Pakistan and he will also have extensive talks with host Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif one-to-one beside delegation level parleys.
The prime minister will host banquet in his honour. Prime Minister Li will also call on President Mamnoon Hussain and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif will have meeting with the distinguished guest.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and General Raheel Sharif both have already met him in China, the sources said. The sources pointed out that the schedule of the visit is being finalised through diplomatic channels and it is likely that the Chinese prime minister will also briefly visit Lahore. He will be the first Chinese prime minister in 59 years who will be visiting Lahore after Zhou Enlai who visited Lahore in 1956. The authorities concerned have been asked to make flawless security arrangements for the visit of distinguished guest from one of the most trusted friends of Pakistan. LI Keqiang, also Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, and referred to as the “Prime Minister”, is the Leader of the State Council of China (the “Central Peoples Government” after 1954), who is the head of government and holds the highest rank (Level 1) in the Civil Service. The diplomatic observers are attaching significant importance to the visit since it is taking place after long pause of years by any foreign head of government of an important country. The sources said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had to visit to Pakistan in September last but sit-ins of Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri subverted the scheduled visit. He is also expected to visit Pakistan now in second quarter of this year, the sources added.