PM Shehbaz arrives in Dushanbe on two-day official visit

• PM Shehbaz visits Tajikistan on President Rahmon's invitation.
• President Rehmon welcomes him at Qasr-e-Millat. 
• Shehbaz to leave for Kazakhstan to attend two summits. 

DUSHANBE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday was given a guard of honour as he arrived in the Tajikistan's capital on a two-day official visit at the invitation of President Emomali Rahmon.

The premier was welcomed at Dushanbe airport by top Tajik officials including Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda, Energy Minister Daler Juma and others, while Pakistan Ambassador in Dushanbe Saeed Sarwar and senior diplomatic officers were also present on the occasion.

President Rehmon received the prime minister as he arrived at the Qasr-e-Millat, Tajikistan's presidential palace, on Tuesday. The national anthems of both countries were played as the prime minister stood at the salute dias.

PM Shehbaz reviewed the guard of honour presented by smartly turned-out contingents of Tajik armed forces.

Later, both Prime Minister Shehbaz and President Rahmon introduced their respective delegations to each other.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi are part of the PM's delegation.

During his two-day visit, Shehbaz will meet different Tajikistan leaders, including Chairman of Majlisi Namoyandagon of Majlisi Oli Mahmadtoir Zoir Zokirzoda and Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda, according to a Foreign Office statement.

The visit is a part of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Tajikistan. The two sides would engage in wide-ranging discussions on areas of mutual interest to further deepen bilateral cooperation, especially in the areas of regional connectivity, trade, people-to-people contacts and energy as well as cooperation on multilateral issues. The two sides would also sign agreements and MoUs in diverse areas of cooperation.

PM Shehbaz will travel to Kazakhstan tomorrow for the twin summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State (CHS) and SCO Plus in Astana.

According to the FO statement, the prime minister would be accompanied by FM Dar and other senior members of the cabinet and senior government officials.

At the SCO Council of Heads of the summit, Shehbaz would share Pakistan’s perspective on important regional and global issues and underline the importance Pakistan accords to regional connectivity and cooperation with the SCO member countries.

The prime minister would also address the SCO Plus Summit that brings together the member states as well as invited dialogue partners, observer states, guests of the chair and international organisations.

He would share Pakistan’s perspective on important regional and global issues and underline the importance of strengthening the organisation for the benefit of the people of the SCO region.

PM Shehbaz would also hold meetings with participating leaders on the sidelines of the summit, including the Russian and Chinese presidents. It would be the prime minister’s second meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in less than a month. 

Moreover, the premier will also have a maiden meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in his present stint during which bilateral cooperation would be discussed.