List of international prime ministerial trips made by Nawaz Sharif explained

According to the report submitted by the former Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif former Prime minister Nawaz Sharif made more than 65 international trips in his third premiership between June 2013 and February 2016. [1] [2] Since his tenure ended on 28 July 2017, the exact number of trips made during his tenure are not officially available. According to another report submitted to the federal cabinet Nawaz Sharif spent 262 days abroad during his tenure. [3] Between June 2013 and February 2016 he made 10 foreign trips in 2013, 11 in 2014, 23 in 2015, and 9 each in 2016 and 2017.

Summary of international trips

According to Khawaja Asif's report, the foreign visits cost the national exchequer more than Rs 1 billion for visits between June 2013 and February 2016. These visits accompanied 631 officers with him. According to another report submitted to the federal cabinet Nawaz Sharif spent 262 days abroad during his tenure. Among the money spent Rs. 30m is spent on tips and Rs. 60m on gifts. The report revealed that a total of Rs 1.84bn was spent on foreign trips by the former prime minister.

The lavish spending in foreign trips are criticised by neutral observers of international media. [4] [5] [6] In May, 2016 the Lahore High Court took notice of lavish spending in foreign tours on public money. The court asked to explain 17 visits to Britain with two months spent in the U.K. The court also questioned how days listed as transit closed 137.8 million rupees. [7] [8] [9]

The exact figures for his trips during his tenure are not available officially. The number of visits per country where he travelled between June 2013 and February 2016 are:

2013

CountryLocationDateDetails
ChinaBeijing4 July 2013Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Beijing to meet with the Chinese officials.
United StatesNew York CitySeptember 2013Prime Minister Sharif travelled to New York to attend the UN General Assembly session.
United StatesWashington, D.C.October 2013Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama and other US officials.

2014

CountryLocationDateDetails
ChinaBeijingApril 2014Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Beijing to meet with the Chinese officials.
United KingdomLondonApril 2014Prime Minister Sharif travelled to London to meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
IndiaNew DelhiMay 2014Prime Minister Sharif travelled to New Delhi to participate in Swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi.
United StatesNew York City22-30 September 2014Prime Minister Sharif travelled to New York to attend the UN General Assembly session.
ChinaBeijing7-10 November 2014Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Beijing to meet with the Chinese officials.
NepalKathmandu26-27 November 2014Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Nepal to Attend with the SAARC 18th Summit 2014
GermanyBerlin10-12 November 2014Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and discuss economic and terrorism issues.

2015

CountryLocationDateDetails
BahrainManamaJanuary 7–8Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Bahrain on the invitation of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa who is the prime minister of Bahrain.[13]
Sri LankaSri Jayawardenepura KotteJanuary 4Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Sri Lanka on the invitation of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremasinghe.[14]
Saudi ArabiaRiyadhJanuary 18Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Saudi Arabia with delegation to meet Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
QatarDohaFebruaryPrime Minister Sharif went on a two-day visit to Qatar and signed an agreement in Doha to import LNG worth billion of dollars.
TajikistanDushanbeMay 11Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Tajikistan to attend the launching of CASA-1000 according to which the two countries Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan were to supply 1300 MW of electricity to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
IranTehran14 June 2015Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran
ThailandBangkok31 July 2015Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra met with Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to discuss mutual cooperation in several fields, including trade and investment.The two leaders agreed that talks on implementing a free trade agreement should start in the nearest future.
United StatesNew York CitySeptember 19Prime Minister Sharif travelled to New York, the United States of America. He attended the 71st session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
United StatesWashingtonOctober 20–23Prime Minister Sharif travelled to Washington to discuss bilateral relations.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nawaz Sharif among most widely-travelled rulers.
  2. Web site: Nawaz Sharif's foreign trips cost state exchequer over Rs1b, NA told – The Express Tribune. April 11, 2018.
  3. Web site: Zardari, Nawaz spent Rs3.26bn on 'lavish foreign trips' as president, PM: Shafqat Mehmood. July 9, 2019. The Dawn.
  4. Web site: Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif Under Fire Over Travel Expenses. February 20, 2016. nbcnews.com.
  5. Web site: Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's 16 foreign visits in over a year cost Rs 294 million. February 4, 2015. Economic Times.
  6. Web site: Nawaz Sharif's Foreign Trips Cost Pak Exchequer Rupees 63.8 Crore. February 19, 2016. NDTV.
  7. Web site: Pakistan court issues notice to Nawaz Sharif govt on his foreign tours. May 24, 2016. Economic times.
  8. Web site: Pak court issues notice to Nawaz Sharif govt on ‘lavish’ foreign tours. April 23, 2016. Hindustan times.
  9. Web site: Pakistan Court Issues Notice to Nawaz Sharif Government On Foreign Tours. May 24, 2016. NDTV.
  10. Web site: PM undertook 14 foreign visits during 18 months in office. Amir. Wasim. December 9, 2014.
  11. Web site: Pakistan PM Sharif and Merkel talk trade, terrorism – DW – 11.11.2014. DW.COM.
  12. Web site: PM to leave for Bahrain on official visit. January 6, 2015.
  13. Web site: PM Nawaz leaves for Bahrain on two-day visit. January 7, 2015.
  14. Web site: The 13 countries PM Nawaz visited during 2016 – Pakistan – Dunya News.