Daily Times

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on his election as Prime Minister of Pakistan and said he was looking forward to working together with him to carry forward the two countries’ traditional friendship and consolidate mutual political trust.

In a congratulatory message, Li said China and Pakistan were unique all-weather strategic cooperative partners, and their bilateral relations and friendship had experienced great changes, and had always been rock-solid and unbreakable. “In the face of profound and complex changes in international and regional situation and amid the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan have helped each other to overcome difficulties, and the ironclad China-Pakistan friendship continues to grow,” he noted.

Li said he looked forward to working together with Shehbaz to carry forward the two countries’ traditional friendship, consolidate mutual political trust and promote the high-quality construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China Daily reported.

Meanwhile, Li expressed willingness to deepen the all-round, pragmatic cooperation between the two countries and speed up the process to forge an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, which would not only benefit the peoples of the two countries and also be conducive to regional and global stability and development.

Li also expressed his belief that Pakistan would accomplish new achievements in promoting national stability, development and progress.

Meanwhile, United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that he wanted to work with Pakistan’s newly elected premier Shehbaz Sharif.

PM Shehbaz was sworn in as the prime minister on April 11, following the ouster of the Imran Khan government through a no-confidence motion – making him the first premier to be removed through the democratic process.

“Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on his election as Prime Minister of Pakistan,” Johnson said in a tweet, where he share his aspirations for a future working relationship with his Pakistani counterpart.

“The UK & Pakistan have a longstanding relationship and our people share deep ties. I look forward to working together on areas of shared interest,” the UK’s PM added.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of United Arab Emirates has felicitated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on assuming his office. A post of the UAE embassy on Twitter on Wednesday read that the UAE crown prince “sends congratulatory message to Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”.

Shehbaz Sharif was elected the prime minister of Pakistan after winning a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly against his predecessor Imran Khan.