National News

ASHGABAT, (MILLAT+APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz
Sharif arrived here in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat to lead
the country’s delegation at the first-ever Global Conference
on Sustainable Transport.
The Prime Minister is accompanied by his Adviser on
National History and Literary Heritage Irfan Siddiqi and
Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi.
The Prime Minsiter is undertaking the visit at the
invitation of the President of Turkmenistan, who is co-hosting
the Conference along with United Nations’ Secretary-General
Ban Ki-Moon.
The Conference, likely to be attended by around 1,500
participants including heads of state and government, ministers,
civil society leaders and the UN officials, will discuss promotion
and the role of sustainable transport towards achievement of the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“Pakistan is keen to improve connectivity with Central
Asian States by establishing transport and communication links.
These will be conducive to tapping the potential of trade,
economic interaction, people-to-people contacts and tourism,”
according to a statement by Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The statement added that Pakistan and China had launched
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to provide seamless
connectivity to Gwadar and Karachi ports.
During the visit, the Prime Minister will also hold a
bilateral meeting with the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly
Berdimuhamedov.
“The meeting of Prime Minister will provide a valuable
opportunity to review the decisions taken during two visits
of the Prime Minister to Turkmenistan in 2015 and the Turkmen
President’s visit to Pakistan in March 2016, as well as exchange
views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual
interest,” the statement said.