ISLAMABAD, Aug 27: President Asif Ali Zardari will lead the Pakistani delegation to the 16th summit of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) being held in Tehran from Aug 29 to 31.
During his visit, the president is expected to hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the conference.
Along with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, two kings, 27 presidents, eight prime ministers, nine vice-presidents, six special envoys and around 25 foreign ministers will attend the summit.
Mr Zardari is also expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his stay in Tehran.
Prime Minister Singh is expected to hold meetings with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and leaders of Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
President Zardari will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who will use the multinational forum to project Pakistan’s position on various international and regional issues.
During the two-day deliberations, world leaders and delegates from other countries will exchange views on latest developments in the world and issues related to NAM.
A spokesman for the Iranian foreign minister told reporters in Tehran that all countries neighbouring Iran were participating in the meeting.
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia has sent his special envoy, while Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa will also participate in the summit.
Egypt, which hosted the 15th summit, will hand over the rotating chairmanship to Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi will open the NAM foreign ministerial meeting on Tuesday, while NAM leaders are scheduled to attend the summit on Thursday and Friday.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei will deliver the opening speech of the summit to heads of state and governments.—APP
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