He said that Prime Minster Khan will deliver a keynote speech in the opening ceremony of the Forum on April 26, adding that he (Prime Minister) will also attend Leaders' Roundtable with leaders from around 38 countries. He will speak in the first session of Leaders' Roundtable, the spokesperson added. He said that the Prime Minister would also hold meetings with several heads of state/government and corporate and business leaders on the sidelines of the 2nd BRF.
In addition to participating in the Belt and Road Forum, the Prime Minister would hold bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. He said that the Prime Minister will address on April 28 Pakistan Business and Investment Forum, which will be attended by prominent Pakistani and Chinese businessmen. The Prime Minister will also participate in Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition along with President Xi Jinping and other world leaders.
"Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. Our friendship is based on mutual confidence and commonality of interests," the spokesperson said, adding that the two countries have always stood by each other through the tests of time. He asserted that the leadership of both the countries is committed to further strengthening this friendship by enhancing mutually-beneficial economic and commercial relations. "The visit of the Prime Minister will be instrumental in taking Pakistan-China bilateral relations to new heights," he added.
This will be Prime Minister Khan's second visit to China since his party came into power after the July 25, 2018 general election. Speaking at a news conference on Monday last, China's Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said that Prime Minister Khan's upcoming will provide an opportunity to both the countries to further explore new vistas of cooperation with the beginning of the second phase of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be signed during the visit.
Earlier, there was a little delay in his departure due to a technical fault in his plane due to which the Prime Minister and his delegation have to wait until the fault was removed.