Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday met the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and discussed the bilateral relations and ways to further enhance the mutual cooperation.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), being held in the Kazakh capital on October 12-13.
He is accompanied by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik and other government representatives.
He would also attend a banquet hosted by the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in honour of leaders of the CICA member states.
Prime Minister Shehbaz would address the plenary meeting of CICA on today, where he will elaborate upon the significance of CICA as a unique forum for promoting interaction, understanding, and collaboration amongst countries across Asia to address common challenges.
“Leaving for Kazakhstan today to attend the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. I believe CICA is capable of shaping a new configuration of economic cooperation and security in Asia through greater connectivity,” the premier tweeted prior to his departure.
In a subsequent tweet, he added: “As the world faces the prospect of a recession fuelled by an increase in the energy and food prices, there is a greater need to promote engagement and understanding to form win-win partnerships. Climate induced disasters call for synergised efforts for mutually beneficial outcomes.”
The CICA is an intergovernmental process comprising 27 countries from all across Asia. Established in 1992, it focuses on promoting peace, security and socio-economic development in the Asian continent, and Pakistan is one of its founding members.
PM Shehbaz would address the plenary meeting of the foum on today during the two-day summit, a statement issued by the Foreign Office said.
In his speech, the premier would elaborate upon the significance of CICA as a unique forum for promoting interaction, understanding and collaboration amongst countries across Asia to address common challenges, the statement said.
It added that PM Shehbaz would also highlight Pakistan’s perspective on regional and global issues.
“On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of various CICA member states aimed at fostering greater cooperation, particularly in the fields of trade, investment and energy,” the statement read.
