ISLAMABAD, October 16. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will have an intense working day in Islamabad on Wednesday, attending the meeting of prime ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and holding talks with other high-ranking delegates.
Mishustin will begin his working day by meeting with his Chinese and Mongolian counterparts, Li Qiang and Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene. The trilateral format of Russia, Mongolia and China was established in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on September 11, 2014, when the first trilateral summit took place. Back then, the three leaders agreed that cooperation in this format has huge potential and corresponds to national interests of their countries. They agreed to hold regular summits, including on sidelines of multilateral and regional events. Currently, China holds the rotating presidency in the group.
After the trilateral talks, Mishustin will continue his conversation with Li Qiang in bilateral format.
Meeting of Heads of Government
The central event of the day will be the meeting of the Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in which Russia will assume the rotating presidency of the council.
SCO member States will be represented by the Prime Ministers of China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as the First Vice President of Iran and the External Affairs Minister of India. The Prime Minister of Mongolia (Observer State) and the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan (Special Guest) will also participate in the meeting.
According to the Russian government’s press service, the participants will discuss trade and economic cooperation in the context of a complex modernization of the SCO in accordance with the emerging geopolitical environment.
Coordinated approaches will be reflected in a final joint statement.
According to Pakistan’s Geo TV, the participants are also expected to discuss joint infrastructure projects, paying special attention to the use of renewable sources of energy. The delegates will also address ways of reducing trade barriers and encouraging investment projects among its members.
Later in the day, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming will brief the media about the outcomes.
Second round of bilateral meetings
On Wednesday afternoon, Mishustin will meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene.
Enhanced security measures
Security has been toughened in Islamabad in the run-up to the meeting. Among other things, the authorities restricted traffic in the so-called ‘Red Zone’ - a district of Islamabad housing the main governmental buildings, as well as judicial and legislative bodies.
More than 9,000 law enforcement and security officers and servicemen are on duty in the city to guard the event’s venues and related infrastructure facilities, as well as to ensure the safety of arriving foreign guests. Foreign delegations are greeted with roadside banners and flags of their respective countries.