Imran Khan, President Xi likely to meet on June 13

F.P. Report

BEIJING: Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to meet on June 13, on the sideline of 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held in Bishkek.

In the coming week, the two leaders will avail the opportunity to have a sideline meeting to discuss matters of bilateral interest. High-level exchanges and meetings have been a regular feature between the two countries, who are close allies and enjoying exemplary relationship.

A spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Lu Kang announced here that President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan from June 12 to 16.

From June 12 to 14, Xi will pay a state visit to Kyrgyzstan and attend the SCO summit and meet the leaders of the participating countries.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the SCO Vladimir Norov announced that the 19th Summit will be held from June 13 to 14 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

He said, “The Bishkek summit will make a special contribution to the deepening of multilateral cooperation within the organization.”

The heads of SCO member states, observer states and international organizations that are cooperating with SCO will attend the summit.

The SCO has eight member states, four observer states and six dialogue partners. Its member states, namely China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, account for more than 20 percent of the global economy and 40 percent of its population.

Norov said that the summit will review the achievements of the SCO under Kyrgyzstan’s presidency, discuss plans for further cooperation, and determine the areas of further development of the organization.

The Bishkek summit is expected to sign documents aimed at deepening interaction between regions, strengthen the fight against illicit drug trafficking, establish cooperation in information technologies, environmental protection, health care and sports, Norov said.

He added that the approaches of the SCO to settling the Afghanistan issue will be outlined again, as a high level of terrorism comes from Afghanistan.

In the economic sphere, the emphasis will be placed on expansion and deepening cooperation between SCO member states in the financial sector, investments, transportation, energy and agriculture.