Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to attend the inauguration ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on June 3, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.
The prime minister will be paying the visit on the invitation of President Erdogan, who was re-elected to his office on May 28.
“The prime minister’s visit will be a reaffirmation of the deep-rooted fraternal ties between Pakistan and Turkiye,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a weekly press briefing.
The FO spokesperson said the prime minister would convey warm felicitations on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan to President Erdogan.
The prime minister would also extend an invitation to President Erdogan to attend the 7th Meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Islamabad, she said.
Baloch said the foreign minister’s meeting with the US ambassador was a routine matter. It was meant to promote bilateral relations and mutual cooperation, she added.
She further said Pakistan’s position on India’s misfire of the BrahMos missile was clear, adding Pakistan had asked India for the investigation report into the incident.
India was also offered to conduct an independent inquiry into it.
Baloch further maintained that India will have to ensure that its nuclear arsenal and missile defence system are safe.
She said the deployment of nuclear weapons in countries with non-nuclear power will have to be carefully looked at.
The spokesperson said Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar will undertake official visits to Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium from June 5-13.
“The MoS will hold meetings at the ministerial level to discuss political engagement and cooperation in development, trade and climate change,” she said.
Khar will also meet lawmakers and local entrepreneurs. In Belgium, she will hold meetings with members of the European Parliament and senior officials of the European Commission.
In Sweden, the state minister will attend the Annual Meeting of the European Council on Foreign Relations as a keynote speaker. She will present Pakistan’s perspective on issues of regional and global importance and interact with leading European decision-makers, experts, think tanks, and influencers for debates on foreign policy priorities and challenges.
The FO spokesperson said Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was currently in Jordan to attend the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein at the invitation of the Royal family of Jordan.
From Jordan, the FM will travel to Iraq from June 5-7 at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr Fuad Hussein. This is the FM’s first visit to Iraq.
“During the visit, the minister will meet the Iraqi leadership. In his meeting with his counterpart, the two sides will discuss a range of issues of common interest and explore avenues of bilateral cooperation,” she said.
She said the foreign minister would formally announce the establishment of the Pilgrimage Centre in Karbala to facilitate Pakistani pilgrims and perform the ground-breaking of the embassy complex.
“A number of agreements are also expected to be signed related to the education sector, cultural cooperation and visa facilitation,” she said.
The FO spokesperson said Pakistan was deeply concerned over India’s latest move seeking the death penalty for prominent Kashmiri leader, Yasin Malik.
“India’s latest move is another instance of political vendetta aimed at silencing the Kashmiri leadership and intimidating the Kashmiri people,” she said.
She urged the Indian authorities to bring an end to the “farce of a trial” of Yasin Malik and provide him with quality health treatment and allowed him to live freely among his family.
