Pakistan PM to visit Turkmenistan

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Turkmenistan on Friday, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

He will lead a Pakistan delegation to the first ever Global Conference on Sustainable Transport to be held at Ashgabat under the auspices of the United Nations.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will attend the conference which is likely to be attended by 1,500 participants, including heads of state, government, ministers, private sector chiefs, civil society leaders and UN officials.

The conference will discuss promotion and role of sustainable transport toward achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During the visit, Sharif will also hold a bilateral meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, according to the foreign ministry.

"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 ministry said in a statement.

The Foreign Ministry said 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.

The statement also pointed out that Pakistan and China have launched the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to provide seamless connectivity to ports at Gwadar and Karachi. Pakistan's rail and road transport corridors can be utilized by land-locked Central Asian countries to have access to Pakistan's seaports at Karachi and Gwadar. Endit