UN chief arriving in Pakistan on four-day visit on 16th: FO

ISLAMABAD: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be visting Pakistan from Feb 16-19.

This will be his first visit as the world body’s top official, though Guterres has been to Pakistan several times as UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

According to Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, the Secretary-General will participate in the “International Conference on 40 Years of Hosting Afghan Refugees in Pakistan: A New Partnership for Solidarity” and will deliver a keynote address.

She said the visit will be an opportunity to acknowledge Pakistan’s contribution to United Nations’ efforts in promotion and maintenance of international peace and security especially through our valiant soldiers serving as the UN peacekeepers.

The two-day conference, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan, is being organized in Islamabad by the Government of Pakistan and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The UN chief will also meet President Arif Alvi on Monday. The Secretary-General would be in Lahore on Tuesday, Feb 18, where he would meet students and attend an event on Pakistan’s polio vaccination campaign.

The UN chief will also travel to Kartarpur to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib before returning to New York on Wednesday, Feb 19.