PM to visit Saudi Arabia to attend WEF special meeting in Riyadh

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 28th to 29th of this month.

At her weekly media briefing in Islamabad today, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will also accompany the Prime Minister during the visit.

She said they have received the invitations from Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and Professor Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

The Spokesperson said high level participation in the Forum will afford an important opportunity to present Pakistan’s priorities specifically in global health architecture, inclusive growth, revitalizing regional collaboration and the need for striking a balance between promoting growth and energy consumption.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on the margins of the main event, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with world leaders, heads of international organizations bodies and other leading personalities participating in the event.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will also participate in the 15th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation being held in Banjul, Gambia on 4th and 5th of next month.

The Spokesperson said the Summit is being convened at a critical time for the Muslim Ummah as the war on the people of Gaza continues unabated.

She said it would be an important occasion for the OIC leaders to deliberate upon the deteriorating situation in Gaza and project a strong, collective and unified stance on the Palestinian question.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the Summit, the Prime Minister will speak about Pakistan’s grave concern on the genocide in Gaza, the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and  Kashmir, imperatives of solidarity and unity of the Ummah, rising Islamophobia and terrorism and other contemporary global issues.

He will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of the Islamic world on the margins of the Summit.

Earlier, the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting will be held on 2nd and 3rd of next month.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will attend the OIC Foreign Ministers meeting.

On the side-lines of the meeting, the Foreign Minister will meet with his counterparts from other OIC countries.