Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf left for Laos on Sunday to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM) and discuss key regional matters with world leaders. Besides attending the Summit in Vientiane, Mr. Asharf will meet several world leaders during his two-day visit, officials said.
Before his departure, Mr. Ashraf told reporters that ASEM is an important forum that will be attended by leaders from Asia and Europe. “Our focus will be on socio-economic issues and how to tackle these,” he said.
Pakistan has been actively participating in ASEM and has been its member since 2006.
Mr. Ashraf said he would apprise world leaders of the challenges facing Pakistan and how his government was coping with these.
The Premier is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the Presidents of Finland, Indonesia and the European Council and the Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Laos, Russia and Australia.
The ASEM dialogue is facilitated by four coordinators, two from Asia and two from Europe. Pakistan and Laos are the coordinators from Asia for the current year.