Shehbaz leaves for KSA today to attend investment summit.
ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressing displeasure over the rising polio cases in the country has directed authorities to conduct a third party audit of the anti-polio drive.
Presiding over an important meeting on polio eradication in Islamabad Monday, he directed Coordinator National Health Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath, Focal Person for Anti-Polio Ayesha Raza Farooq and Secretary National Health, to visit the most polio-affected areas in the country during the recent anti-polio campaign.
The PM expressed the commitment to defeat challenges like polio collectively. He also commended the efforts of the government polio team to eradicate the disease from the country.
The PM expressed the confidence that Pakistan will become a polio-free country soon and said we will not be sitting calmly until polio is defeated forever.
He also directed to evolve a comprehensive strategy regarding the immunity gap.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed regarding the recent polio cases and anti-polio campaign in the country.
It was informed that currently, the number of active polio cases in the country has reached 41 and out of this, there are 25 cases in which routine immunization is not optimal.
The meeting was further briefed that the areas with better polio vaccination rates among children have lower polio prevalence.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the 8th Edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) being held in Riyadh from October 29 to 30, Foreign Office announced in a statement yesterday.
The Prime Minister during the visit will be accompanied by key cabinet ministers.
The Future Investment Initiative (FII) serves as an important platform for the countries to showcase their economic strength, draw foreign investments, and engage in dialogue to shape a sustainable future.
This year’s FII is themed “Infinite Horizons: Investing Today, Shaping Tomorrow” and will focus on global investments aimed at addressing major issues such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, education, energy, space, finance, healthcare, and sustainability.
The foreign office spokesperson said the Prime Minister is expected to hold important bilateral talks with the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and other senior Saudi officials.
“The two sides will discuss economic and strategic partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and explore bilateral cooperation in the economic, energy, and defence domains”.
The Prime Minister is also expected to engage with the participating leaders and entrepreneurs at the FII 8th Edition Conference.
Diplomatic sources confirmed that after visiting Saudi Arabia, PM Shehbaz Sharif would pay a day-long visit to Qatar where he would discuss bilateral ties and Middle East situation with the Qatari leadership.