PM Shehbaz to visit Kazakhstan tomorrow to attend CICA summit

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Astana, Kazakhstan on October 12 to participate in the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

In a press release on Tuesday, Foreign Office (FO) said that the PM will be accompanied by members of the cabinet and senior officials.

In his address to the plenary meeting, the PM 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.

The statement further said that PM Shehbaz will highlight Pakistan’s, which is one of CICA's founding members, perspective on regional and global issues.

"The Prime Minister’s participation in the CICA Summit attests to the importance attached by Pakistan to promoting connectivity and economic cooperation in Asia, in keeping with the objectives enshrined in the CICA Charter," FO said.

PM to attend CICA Summit in Kazakhstan

On the sidelines of the summit, Shehbaz 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, FO said.

CICA, established in 1992, is an intergovernmental process comprising 27 countries from all across Asia. It focuses on promoting peace, security and socio-economic development in the Asian continent.

CICA offers an invaluable platform for advancing the objectives of regional stability and prosperity through dialogue and win-win cooperation.

It promotes confidence building measures under five broad domains: economic dimension, environmental dimension, human dimension, new challenges and threats, and military-political dimension.

Meanwhile, FO has requested secretaries of Power Division, Petroleum Division and Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives to share relevant material including specific brief and talking points for inclusion in the brief for the prime minister.

The Petroleum Ministry is already in touch with its Kazakh counterpart to discuss possibilities of gas and petroleum import and gas swap options with Kazakhstan. The Commerce Ministry has also held meetings to finalize Transit Trade Agreement, identify and put forth solutions to hurdles impacting bilateral trade and discuss possible avenues for trade expansion.