ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif will leave for a two-day visit to Beijing on Monday.
In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) said that the foreign minister will attend the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The council will discuss issues related to peace and security at the international and regional level and the promotion of cooperation between the member states. The meeting will finalise preparations for the forthcoming SCO Heads of State Council in Qingdao.
The foreign minister will also meet his counterparts at the Council of Foreign Ministers, including Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
SCO is an important forum for global and regional peace and security and promotion of mutually beneficial cooperation between the member states.
Pakistan joined the organisation in June 2017.
“We have been playing an active, responsible and constructive role in it in line with the Shanghai spirit, which calls for mutual trust and benefit, equality, respect for cultural diversity and the pursuit of common development. We will continue to play our role in meeting the objectives of SCO,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan will also leave for Beijing on Monday to lead the Pakistani delegation at the meeting of defence ministers of the SCO member-states.
The meeting has already started. The minister will also hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe and discuss ways and means to further enhance defence cooperation between the two countries.