Qureshi, not Imran, to attend KL summit

Prime Minister Imran Khan has cancelled his trip to Malaysia for attending Kuala Lumpur (KL) Summit, an initiative of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and instead Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will represent Pakistan in the Summit.

Informed sources said the scheduled visit of the Prime Minister had been canceled and Foreign Minister Qureshi would represent Pakistan in the KL Summit scheduled to be held from 18-20 December 2019 at the capital of Malaysia.

The decision, according to the sources, was taken after high-level consultation following Prime Minister Khan's visit to Saudi Arabia and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa's to United Arab Eremites (UAE) in recent days.

Both Saudi Arabia and UAE are also not attending the KL Summit, as Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani are expected to attend the Summit.

On December 6, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal, while speaking his weekly media briefing, announced that on the invitation of Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister Imran Khan would be participating in the KL Summit, due to take place in Kuala Lumpur from 18-20 December 2019.

The KL Summit is an initiative of Malaysian Prime Minister together with the participation of leaders, scholars and intellectuals. It is a platform to exchange views on the current challenges and to work together to address them.

Meanwhile, Foreign Office also announced on Monday that Prime Minister Imran Khan will be visiting Geneva to co-convene the first-ever Global Refugee Forum (GRF) commencing on 17 December 2019.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Switzerland are co-hosting the GRF. Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with President Erdogan and leaders from Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Germany, has been invited to co-convene the Forum in recognition of their exemplary role for the protection and well-being of refugees.