ISLAMABAD - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will address the sitting of the Upper House of Parliament on 23rd of this month after his joint meeting with Senate Chairman Nayyer Hussain Bokhari and National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, the Senate Secretariat said on Thursday.

In his address to the Senate, the Chinese premier would focus on Pakistan-China ties and mutual parliamentary relations between the two countries, besides other issues.  The Senate Secretariat is busy in finalising the schedule of Chinese premier’s visit to the Parliament House on May 23 in consultations with officials of Chinese Embassy in Islamabad through the Foreign Office.

Li Keqiang will start his first ever two-day visit to Pakistan from May 22 after he was sworn to the office of Chinese prime minister in March this year.

According to a tentative schedule prepared by the Senate Secretariat, the chairman and the speaker will receive foreign dignitary on his arrival at the Parliament House on May 23 before noon.  After this, Mr Keqiang would be escorted to the Senate chairman’s chamber, where a joint meeting of the chairman and speaker would be held with the guest. Afterwards, Bokhari and Mirza would escort him to the Senate Hall for his address to lawmakers.

All members of the House would be seated fifteen minutes before the arrival of the premier in the hall.

Special seats would be reserved for the Chinese delegation in the galleries of the Senate Hall during the speech of the premier.

At the end of the visit of the Parliament House, the Senate chairman would see off the premier and his delegation.