Pakistan Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif will arrive here on Thursday for a multi-dimensional trip that includes meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, a visit to a Haryana super thermal plant and going ahead with a MoU between agricultural universities of Ludhiana and Faislabad, according to Pakistan High Commission officials.
The Chief Minister, younger brother of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, will be accompanied by the state commerce and education ministers besides his elder brother’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs.
Despite New Delhi’s lukewarm approach to Mr. Sharif’s arrival on the invitation of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the meeting with the Prime Minister will be the highlight of the political part of his visit at a time when the U.S., Pakistan and Afghanistan are engaging each other with increasing intensity. A few days later, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai will be in Delhi for an interaction with Dr. Singh besides other private engagements in Pune.
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