
ISLAMABAD: 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.
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.