Imran Khan arrives in Dubai, to deliver speech at World Government Summit
Pakistani PM also scheduled to hold meeting with IMF Chief in Dubai
Dubai: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has arrived in Dubai to speak at the World Government Summit today, Sunday.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received him upon his arrival in Dubai.
He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi and Adviser to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood,
Khan will speak at the World Government Summit (WGS) and will also work on bailout plan for his country at the event.
Meeting with IMF chief
Imran is scheduled to meet Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the sideline of the WGS today to negotiate the issues which have held up bailout package for his cash-striped country.
Pakistan is seeking its 13th bailout since the late 1980s to deal with a current account deficit that threatens to trigger a balance of payments crisis, but talks have been delayed by difficulties in reconciling IMF reform demands with Islamabad’s fears the push is too drastic and could hurt economic growth.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told media that the talks between PM Imran and Lagarde on the sidelines of the World Government Summit will give Pakistan a chance to give their version.
“This will give us a chance to understand the IMF views and we will be able to give our version to [Lagarde],” said Chaudhry.
WGS Speech
Imran will also speak at 5.20pm today (Sunday) at a key session at the WGS, along with Amina J. Mohammad, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, and Maria Fernanda Espinosa, president of the UN General Assembly.
Pope Francis’s video message will also be played in the same session and it will be followed by the address by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Imran’s participation is a significant addition to the agenda of the seventh WGS, held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, a media statement said.
He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi and Adviser to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood,
Imran will speak about his vision for the future of Pakistan and what he sees as its pivotal socioeconomic role in the region and the wider world, the UAE government announced on Thursday. (ends)