ISLAMABAD (DNA) -The President of the State of Palestine H.E. Mahmoud Abbas will be visiting Islamabad from 30 January 2017 to 01 February 2017. This would be his third visit to Pakistan. He has previously been to Pakistan in 2005 and 2013. He will be accompanied by a seventeen member delegation, including five Ministers.        

During the visit, the Palestinian President will have a one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan followed by delegation-level talks. Subsequently, the President of Palestine and the Prime Minister of Pakistan will jointly inaugurate the newly constructed Palestine Embassy Complex in the Diplomatic Enclave, Islamabad.  

The Government of Pakistan had gifted a plot of land in 1992 for the construction of the Palestinian Embassy Complex. Subsequently, in 2013 Pakistan also contributed towards its construction.     

President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation will meet the President of Pakistan, followed by a state banquet in his honour. Bilateral political matters as well as other issues of common interest will be discussed between the two Heads of State. 

The relations between Pakistan and Palestine have traditionally been strong. Pakistan has consistently supported the creation of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian State, with pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Pakistan has also extended support to the Palestinian struggle for their independent homeland, in all international forums.