ISLAMABAD(National times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to depart for China on August 30 to participate in the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. During the high-level meeting, the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral talks with several world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The summit will bring together heads of member states to discuss regional cooperation, security, economic integration, and mutual development. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to attend the gathering. The SCO platform provides member countries with an opportunity to engage in multilateral dialogue and strengthen diplomatic and economic ties.

Pakistan-China friendship ‘stands test of time,’ says Wang Yi

Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that the China-Pakistan friendship has stood the test of time, and the all-weather strategic partnership remains unbreakable Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stated this during a regular briefing while responding to a question regarding Yi’s recent visit to Pakistan. She said the Chinese foreign minister met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, and co-chaired the sixth round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue together with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. Mao Ning said the strategic cooperation between the two countries is “significant to our common development and regional peace and stability”. “China and Pakistan have been at the forefront in building a community with a shared future in the neighborhood. China will work with Pakistan to follow the guidance of the important common understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, deepen traditional friendship, strengthen strategic communication, jointly develop CPEC 2.0, and build an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.” China and Pakistan will always render each other high-level trust and support, focus on development and mutual benefit, safeguard security and deliver for the people, coordinate and collaborate and jointly respond to challenges, she added. The spokesperson said the Yi’s visit to Pakistan is the last leg of Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s three-nation trip to South Asia.