ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan in the weekly briefing on Friday, shared details of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State (CHS) Summit and the SCO CHS Plus meeting in Tianjin, China, held from August 31 to September 1, 2025.
The SCO CHS Summit brought together Heads of State and Government from all member countries, including Pakistan, Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In the expanded SCO CHS Plus meeting, leaders from Mongolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Türkiye, Egypt, Maldives, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia also joined, alongside the UN Secretary-General and heads of regional and international organizations.
At the SCO CHS Summit, Prime Minister Sharif presented Pakistan’s perspectives on pressing regional and global issues, highlighting strategies to strengthen the SCO’s role in fostering regional cooperation and stability.
To ensure a lasting peace in South Asia, the PM called for a comprehensive and structured dialogue to discuss all outstanding disputes. Condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including state terrorism, the Prime Minister underlined that Pakistan had rendered great sacrifices in combatting terrorism for the regional and global stability. He mentioned that Pakistan had irrefutable evidence of foreign involvement in the Jaffar Express train hostage incident and numerous other terror attacks in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
The Prime Minister unequivocally denounced Israel’s inhuman military offensive against Gaza and called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. He condemned attack on Iran, a fellow SCO Member State.
Reiterating the negative implications of instability in Afghanistan on the development of entire SCO region, Prime Minister Sharif called for engagement with Afghanistan in a meaningful manner.
The Prime Minister highly praised SCO’s vision of regional connectivity and economic integration and underscored Pakistan’s strategic geographical location as an ideal trade and transit hub for the entire SCO region. He noted China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a key initiative for achieving trans-regional economic and trade integration.
On the sidelines of these Summit, the Prime Minister had important bilateral meetings with the Presidents of SCO member States and other invited guests. Issues of mutual interest and matters relating to further strengthening political, economic and trade relations were discussed by the leaders.
During the meeting with the President of the Republic of Türkiye, H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, both leaders reviewed the current state of Pakistan-Türkiye relations and expressed satisfaction over the growing momentum in bilateral ties. They noted with appreciation the steady increase in high-level exchanges and cooperation across a broad spectrum, including political, economic, defense, and security domains.
Prime Minister also held a meeting with H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Prime Minister congratulated President Aliyev on the signing of the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, marking a significant step towards lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus. The two leaders reviewed full spectrum of bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, energy, connectivity, defence, education, and people-to-people exchanges and expressed satisfaction at the growing momentum in Pakistan-Azerbaijan relations.
During the meeting with the President of Iran, the Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s deep commitment to its historic and brotherly ties with neighbouring Iran, underlining the strong foundations of the relationship rooted in shared history, cultural heritage, and faith. Both leaders reviewed the state of bilateral cooperation across diverse sectors and expressed satisfaction with the positive momentum in Pakistan-Iran relations.
The PM also had a meeting with H.E. Emomali Rahmon, President of Republic of Tajikistan. Both leaders expressed their satisfaction on the ongoing cooperation between Pakistan and Tajikistan in all areas of mutual interest. The two leaders agreed to enhance collaboration in diverse fields including trade and investment, connectivity, energy, regional security, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.
PM met with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. Recalling their last meeting in Astana in 2024, both leaders expressed great satisfaction on expanding cooperation and increasing momentum in bilateral relations over the course of past one year. Both leaders acknowledged that the relationship today is underpinned by mutual trust, respect and warmth between the two sides.
During the visit the Prime Minister met the President of China Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. During his meeting with President Xi, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan took great pride in China’s achievements and would always stand ready to work together with China in this great journey for common prosperity.
The Prime Minister appreciated China’s unflinching support to Pakistan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and socio-economic development. He lauded the significance of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor as a flagship project of President Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and reaffirmed the desire to continue working closely with China for the successful implementation of the next phase of upgraded CPEC, with its five new corridors. This would help both countries to build an even stronger Pakistan-China community with a shared future.
In his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, PM expressed his deepest gratitude to the Chinese leadership and nation for their unflinching support to Pakistan. The Prime Minister reiterated Pakistan’s support for President Xi Jinping’s landmark initiatives to strengthen multilateralism, including the Global Governance Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative as well as Global Civilization Initiative.
Prime Minister participated in the B2B Investment Conference, where more than 300 Pakistani and 500 Chinese companies were in attendance. He identified agriculture, mines and minerals, textile, industrial sector and IT as priority areas for mutually beneficial economic collaboration.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif also participated in China’s 80th Victory Day anniversary parade celebrating China’s victory in World War II. In the parade, he was joined by other world leaders as well.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar visited the Luban Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Exhibition Hall in Tianjin, where he was briefed on the operations of Luban Workshops and their existing cooperation with Pakistan.
He also discussed with the Chinese hosts on further deepening cooperation under the Luban Framework, with a focus on scaling up joint efforts in technical and vocational education in new and emerging industries.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, formally exchanged a Joint Communiqué, with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Mr. Ararat Mirzoyan, thereby establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Marking a historic step forward, both the leaders affirmed their commitment to the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter and discussed possible avenues of cooperation including economy, education, culture, and tourism.
The two leaders reaffirmed their desire to work closely with each other at bilateral and multilateral fora, to achieve their shared objectives of peace, progress, and prosperity for the peoples of their two countries.
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar received a call from EU High Representative Vice President, Kaja Kallas. EU HR VP conveyed condolences on the tragic loss of lives caused by the recent floods in Pakistan and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families. She also affirmed the EU’s support for Pakistan’s relief and recovery efforts.
The DPM FM thanked her for the expression of solidarity and support, underscoring Pakistan’s vulnerability as one of the countries most severely impacted by the climate crisis.
They expressed satisfaction at the growing momentum in Pakistan-EU engagements and reaffirmed their shared resolve to further strengthen cooperation across all areas of mutual interest, particularly climate action, building resilience, and sustainable recovery.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, called Acting Afghan FM Amir Khan Muttaqi to convey condolences on the tragic loss of lives, with thousands injured in recent earthquake in Afghanistan. He offered prayers for the victims and bereaved families, reaffirmed Pakistan’s solidarity with the Afghan people, and assured readiness to extend all possible support as required by the Afghan side.
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, received a call from German Foreign Minister. The two leaders affirmed their resolve to further strengthen mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation, and underscored the importance of high-level contacts. They also exchanged views on regional issues.
The 14th Round of Pakistan-Japan Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) were held in Islamabad on 04 September 2025. Pakistan side was led by Special Secretary (UN) Ambassador Nabeel Munir, while Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan AKAHORI Takeshi led the Japanese side.
The two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of Pakistan-Japan bilateral relationship and reaffirmed the commitment to further enhancing cooperation in trade and investment, development, people to people exchanges and education among other topics.
The two sides also exchanged views on the regional peace and security situation in South Asia, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
Pakistan strongly condemns the deadly Israeli airstrikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, which claimed the lives of at least 21 individuals, including four journalists and a rescue worker. This unconscionable and heinous attack on a medical facility, as well as the continued targeting of civilians and journalists, represents a grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as freedom of press.
Pakistan expresses its full support for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Syria, and calls on the international community to prevent Israel from undermining the peace and stability of the entire region.
A high-level delegation from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) visited Pakistan from 24 to 28 August 2025, to review the country’s progress as an Associate Member of CERN.
During the visit, a team of five top experts from CERN met with the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and toured various science and technology institutions. These included the National Centre for Physics (NCP), Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology (INMOL), National Institute for Laser and Optronics (NILOP), among other advanced facilities. The purpose of these visits was to assess Pakistan’s progress in the field of science and technology.
