PM and Putin may speak on the sidelines of the SCO conference.
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| Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. SCREENSHOOT |
ISLAMABAD: The first face-to-face meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Xinping since the change of administration in Pakistan in April is scheduled to take place later this week.
On September 15 and 16, President Xi and Prime Minister Shehbaz will have a meeting outside of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
A diplomatic source confirmed to The Express Tribune on Sunday that President Xi and the prime minister would meet during the SCO summit. According to additional sources, the full range of bilateral relations would be discussed.
Other world leaders anticipated to attend the meeting include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in addition to Prime Minister Shehbaz and President Xi Jinping.
Shehbaz will speak during the SCO summit, but attention will also be paid to his individual meetings, including one he had on the sidelines of the summit with the president of China. Since taking office as prime minister, he has yet to see President Xi.
After being chosen as prime minister five months ago, Shehbaz had intended to travel to Beijing, but his trip was cancelled since a meeting with President Xi could not be arranged.
Although no official explanation was given, sources claimed that President Xi was prevented from seeing Prime Minister Shehbaz due to rigorous Covid-19 rules. The Chinese president is currently visiting Samarkand, his first trip abroad in more than two years.
The China Pakistan Economic Corridor would be the main emphasis as both parties review their bilateral relationship, according to insiders (CPEC). On the agenda, however, will also be a discussion of the recent enormous floods brought on by record monsoon rainfall.
The extent of the destruction has severely strained Pakistan's already fragile economy. During a recent visit to Pakistan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres disclosed that the flood had already cost the nation $30 billion.
The UN head encouraged the world to give Pakistan a lot of support since Pakistan was paying the price for something that was started by others. China would undoubtedly be a source of important assistance for Pakistan in the restoration and rehabilitation of the flood-affected areas.
The prime minister is also anticipated to meet separately with other SCO leaders in Samarkand. The insider indicated that his meeting with President Putin is also scheduled, adding that "he will meet practically all leaders, except for a few of them."
Given that former PM Imran Khan thinks one of the reasons he was removed from office through the alleged US-backed plan was because he wanted to strengthen ties with Moscow, a meeting between Shehbaz and Putin would garner a lot of attention.
At the forthcoming meeting, India will take over the SCO presidency. Some have suggested that Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Shehbaz would exchange courtesy calls, but sources have ruled this out.
Despite initial hopes for a thaw following the change of administration in Pakistan, there has been no sign of constructive progress on the bilateral front between Pakistan and India.
It was also unclear from a statement issued by the Indian government on Sunday whether Prime Minister Modi will meet privately with Shehbaz, Putin, or Xi. Xi's travel itinerary has not yet been made public by Beijing, but Moscow has confirmed Putin's discussions with his Chinese counterpart.
Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and the four Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan make up the SCO, an organisation for political, economic, and security cooperation in Eurasia. Iran is slated to join the group.
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