BEIJING: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar arrived in Beijing, China on Monday.
He was warmly received at the airport by Ambassador Ms. Yu Hong from the Department of Asian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, along with Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Khalil ur Rehman Hashmi, and senior officials from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During his visit, Dar will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting scheduled to be held in Tianjin on Tuesday.
At the meeting, Dar is expected to discuss key issues with foreign ministers of other SCO member states and will also call on the President of China. Additionally, bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other SCO member countries are on the agenda.
The SCO, a Eurasian political and security grouping, includes ten member nations: China, Russia, Pakistan, India, and Iran, among others. The meeting of foreign ministers is held as a precursor to the annual summit of SCO leaders, set for later this autumn. The CFM is the third-highest forum in the SCO framework and focuses on international relations, foreign policy, and security matters.
Top diplomats from Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will also attend the event.
The SCO CFM approves documents, declarations, and statements that will be considered during the annual summit of the Council of Heads of State (CHS), set to take place from August 31 to September 1 in Tianjin, China.
