China, UK, S Arabia, UAE felicitate Shehbaz

BEIJING/ISLAMABAD: Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang on Wednesday congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on his election as Pakistan’s prime minister.

In a congratulatory message, Li said China and Pakistan are unique all-weather strategic cooperative partners, adding that bilateral relations and friendship have experienced great changes, and have 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 looks 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.

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 will 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 will accomplish new achievements in promoting national stability, development and progress. United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson also congratulated Shahbaz Sharif on his election.

In a tweet, Boris Johnson said: “Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on his election as Prime Minister of Pakistan. The UK & Pakistan have a longstanding relationship and our people share deep ties. I look forward to working together on areas of shared interest.”

Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also felicitated Shehbaz. “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has sent a cable of congratulations to Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on the occasion of his taking oath of office,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, also sent a cable of congratulations to Sharif and wished him success.

Earlier, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent a message of congratulations to Shehbaz Sharif and Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, also sent congratulatory messages to the new Pakistani prime minister.