MINSK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was greeted with a guard of honor at Belarus’s Independence Palace on Friday, where he was scheduled to meet with President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
President Lukashenko greeted him cordially as the prime minister arrived at the venue of the formal welcome reception.
The national anthems of Pakistan and Belarus were played when the prime minister and president of Belarus stood on the saluting dais.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Lukashenko presented their respective delegations before moving on to the bilateral meeting and delegation-level negotiations.
Earlier, Belarusian Prime Minister Alexander Turchin and top officials from the Pakistan Embassy greeted the premier at Minsk International Airport. He was accompanied by a high-level team that included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi.
The visit was set to take place from April 10 to 11 and would feature conversations between Prime Minister Shehbaz and President Lukashenko to evaluate progress in areas of mutual interest. According to the Foreign Office.
“Over the past six months, a series of high-level bilateral engagements — including the 8th Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) in February 2025 and a subsequent visit by a high-powered mixed ministerial delegation to Belarus in April 2025 — have laid the groundwork for a productive visit,” the FO said in a statement.
Several agreements will be signed during the visit to deepen collaboration in a variety of sectors.
The Foreign Office stated that the visit demonstrates Pakistan’s strong and continuous engagement with Belarus.
