TIANJIN, China: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday held informal meetings with leaders of several member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) during a reception hosted for participants of the 25th Heads of State Council summit in Tianjin.
Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Prime Minister Sharif and other world leaders on their arrival at the banquet venue, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
During the reception, PM Sharif interacted with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The Prime Minister’s exchanges with fellow leaders reflected the cordial and cooperative ties Pakistan maintains across the SCO region, state-run APP news agency stated.
According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, President Xi told participants that the SCO shoulder greater responsibilities in safeguarding regional peace and stability at a time of global uncertainty.
President Xi said the organisation had become “an important force in building a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for humanity”.
The Tianjin summit, attended by more than 20 heads of state and leaders of 10 international organisations, is the largest annual gathering in the SCO’s history.
Member states are expected to adopt key documents, including a development strategy for the next decade, Xinhua reported.
Alongside Pakistan, top leaders from Russia, India, Iran, Central Asia, and Belarus are present, placing China at the centre of regional diplomacy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tianjin on Sunday with senior political and business representatives, while ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn is also attending, alongside Mr Guterres.
Xi said Tianjin, a historic port city and a hub of China’s reform and opening-up, provided a fitting backdrop for the SCO’s future-oriented agenda.
He expressed confidence that the summit would strengthen unity among member states and inject new vitality into regional cooperation.
