ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to participate in the second Joint Arab-Islamic Summit held in Riyadh on 11 November. The PM will be leaving today (Sunday).
According to Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the Summit will be preceded by the preparatory session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) on 10 November. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar will participate in the preparatory CFM. The deputy prime minister and foreign minister left for Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister will also be part of the Pakistan delegation led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the second Arab-Islamic Summit. Convened at the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Summit will consider the situation in the Middle East, including the ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestine.
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The Summit is being convened at the initiative of the Government of Saudi Arabia, to discuss the situation in the Middle East.
This will be a follow up to the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit held on 11 November 2023 in Riyadh to discuss the situation in Gaza and other occupied territories. Heads of States and governments and senior officials from Arab League and the OIC member countries are expected to participate in the Summit.
At the Summit, the prime minister will reiterate Pakistan’s full support to the Palestinian cause. He will call for an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza; an urgent and unconditional ceasefire; immediate cessation of the ongoing Israeli adventurism in the region that is endangering the security of the countries in the Middle East. Pakistan will also call for providing international protection for the Palestinian people; and for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine on the borders of 4 June 1967, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
On the sidelines of the Summit, the FO says the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from other Arab League and OIC Member States.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024