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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. -AFP/File
ISLAMABAD: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be arriving in Islamabad on 9th February on a two-day official visit to finalise the details of the upcoming visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, a top government source told Dawn.com.
The Chinese president is scheduled to visit the country from 22nd March this year.
The source said that that during his visit, Foreign Minister Yi would meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the PM House and Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz at the Foreign Ministry.
The source further stated that the agenda of discussion would be agreements to be taken up during the visit of the Chinese president, which would be finalised during talks with the visiting foreign minister.
Wang Yi recently met with India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Beijing on a host of bilateral and multilateral issues, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit to China in May.
Read also: China hails ties with India, Russia
A diplomatic source had told Dawn that the Chinese president is expected to attend the Pakistan Day parade as chief guest.
Read more: After 7 year gap, Pakistan Day to see military parade in full glory
Both China and Pakistan are working out details of the Chinese president's visit through diplomatic channels.
Chinese authorities have been assured about maximum security during Jinping's upcoming visit.
"We are in the middle of a process to finalise the drafts of various agreements to be signed during the visit of the Chinese president," Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told Dawn.com at Parliament House.
He made it clear that at no cost would the visit by the President Xi Jinping be postponed this time. He accused certain political elements of trying to disrupt the beginning of Pakistan-China economic corridor.
The Chinese president would formally open this corridor from a location not be disclosed due to security concerns, a source said.
"The visit by the Chinese president is extraordinary because of two reasons, first due to the visit by US President Barack Obama to India last month and second due to long awaited joint services military parade on 23rd March in Islamabad which would be graced by the Chinese president," Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed told Dawn.com.
Late last year, following consultations between the governments of China and Pakistan, the visit of Chinese president to the country had been cancelled in light of protests in Islamabad led by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).
As the ruling Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) blamed PTI chief Imran Khan and firebrand cleric Tahirul Qadri's protest in the capital for the cancellation of Chinese president's visit, counterpart India rolled out the red carpet for Xi Jinping on his maiden visit to India.
Chinese FM to visit Pakistan, president's trip to be discussed - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
