Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will on Wednesday embark on a four-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye to discuss ongoing bilateral cooperation as well as regional peace and security.
A foreign office statement said Sharif will also participate in the Fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkiye.
Sharif’s visit comes at a time when Pakistan is engaged in high-level contacts to bring Iran and the US back to the negotiating table with the two sides likely to meet again in Islamabad for a second round of talks by next week.
On April 11, the US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian delegation led by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf failed to reach an agreement following historic marathon talks in Islamabad over the weekend to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict that started on February 28.
Sharif’s visits from April 15–18 to Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be in the bilateral context, where the Prime Minister will meet the leadership from the respective countries to discuss ongoing bilateral cooperation as well as regional peace and security, the Foreign Office said.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will depart from Islamabad for Jeddah today on his official visit to Saudi Arabia, accompanied by a high-level delegation,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on X.
The prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia coincides with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s announcement in Washington that the gulf nation has committed USD 3 billion in additional financial support for Pakistan, with disbursement expected next week, while also extending its existing USD 5 billion deposit for a longer period. It said will help bolster foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the external account.
The prime minister will also visit Turkiye to participate in the Fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum, where Sharif will participate in the Leaders’ Panel, alongside other world leaders, to present Pakistan’s perspective at the Forum.
On the sidelines of the Forum, the Prime Minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other key world leaders.
The prime minister will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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