Musharraf begins China visit to broaden ties (Agencies) Updated: 2006-02-19 10:38
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf will pay a state visit to China
from February 19-23 at the invitation of the Chinese President Hu Jintao, it was
officially announced on Saturday.
The killing of three Chinese engineers in
southwestern Pakistan ahead of President Pervez Musharraf's visit to China
is unlikely to harm ties between the two allies in the long term.
[AFP] | The visit will mark the beginning of
events which have been organized to mark the 55th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China, a Foreign
Office statement said.
The president will be accompanied by the First Lady Begum Sehba Musharraf.
His entourage will include several ministers and high-ranking government
officials.
The president's program in China includes bilateral talks with President Hu
Jintao, and separate meetings with Premier Wen Jiaobao, Chairman Standing
Committee, National People's Congress Wu Bangguo, and Chairman of CPPCC Jia
Qingin Qinglin.
President Musharraf and the Chinese leadership will review multi-facetted
bilateral relations, regional issues and other international developments of
mutual interest.
The president's program will also include meetings with the CEOs of select
energy and power sector corporations.
The top officials of the China Council for Promotion of International Trade
and Chinese Federation of Industry and Commerce including Textile Chambers will
meet the president.
The secretary general Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will also call
on the president.
During the visit, the president will address the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, attend a dinner commemorating the 55th anniversary of the
establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations and have an extensive
interaction with the media.
The president will address a Business Conference, which is being organized to
enhance trade and investment between the two countries.
The president will also receive a book by Professor Yan Daojing entitled
'President Musharraf from willed statesman of the twenty first century'.
He will also witness a cultural performance being organized to mark the 55th
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two
countries. He will visit Changdu and meet provincial political and business
leadership of the Sichuan province as well as intellectual and scholars of the
Sichuan University and South Asian Institute.
The president's visit is a landmark in the 55th year of establishment of
diplomatic relations between the two countries. It will underline the
all-weather bilateral friendship and will further enhance and deepen the
strategic partnership between the two countries.
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