Palestine president to visit Pakistan tomorrow

Islamabad: The President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, will arrive in Islamabad on Monday on a three-day visit to Pakistan, it was officially announced here.

Abbas will be accompanied by a 17-member delegation including five ministers on his third visit to the country. He has previously been to Pakistan in 2005 and 2013.

During his stay in Islamabad, Abbas will have a one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, followed by delegation-level talks.

Both leaders will jointly inaugurate the newly constructed Palestine Embassy Complex in the Diplomatic Enclave in Islamabad. The Pakistan government had gifted a plot of land in 1992 for the construction of the complex. In 2013 Pakistan also contributed towards its construction.

Abbas and his team will meet the Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain. A state banquet will be hosted in honour of the Palestinian leader. Bilateral political matters as well as other issues of common interest will be discussed between the two Heads of State.

The relations between Pakistan and Palestine have traditionally been strong. Pakistan has consistently supported the creation of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian state, with pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital.

Pakistan has also extended support to the Palestinian struggle for their independent homeland in all international forums.