ISLAMABAD: Premier of the State Council of China Li Qiang on Monday was accorded a red carpet as he arrived here on a four-day bilateral visit to meet Pakistan’s civil and military leadership and attend the meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
He was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers and senior officials including from the ministries of foreign affairs and commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and the China International Development Cooperation Agency.
This is the first visit of any Chinese premier to Pakistan after 11 years.
Flags and Banners displayed in the Federal Capital ahead of the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit. APP/SMR/IQJ/TZD/FHA
On his arrival at the airport, Premier Li was warmly received by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif along Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, other federal cabinet members and senior government officials.
Clad in traditional Pakistani dresses, two children presented bouquets to the dignitary as a 21-gun salute in the backdrop heralded his arrival. The static guards of Pakistan’s armed forces presented a salute to the dignitary.
The route of the Chinese Premier’s motorcade and other main intersections of the federal capital were decorated with the flags of Pakistan and China and banners inscribed with slogans depicting the time-tested bilateral ties.
