US President Donald Trump is scheduled to host Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House on Thursday, marking a significant step in strengthening relations between Washington and Islamabad. The closed-door meeting in the Oval Office comes as part of Trump’s high-stakes bilateral engagements, according to his public schedule released by the White House.
Sharif is arriving in Washington following his participation in the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York. On Wednesday, he addressed the UN Climate Summit, where he raised concerns about Pakistan’s mounting debt and warned that borrowing was not a sustainable path to resolving global challenges. His comments somewhat overshadowed his assertion that Islamabad is taking “concrete action” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier this week, Sharif also had an informal exchange with Trump during a gathering with leaders of eight Islamic-Arab countries. Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar joined Sharif for the discussion, which followed President Trump’s dialogue with the regional leaders. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed the interaction in a post on X.
The White House schedule also indicates that Trump will sign several executive orders before meeting with Sharif, including the highly anticipated TikTok security deal. The agreement, which has been under discussion for months, is expected to reshape the ownership structure of the popular video-sharing platform in the United States.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that TikTok will be majority-owned by American investors and governed by a board with strong national security and cybersecurity expertise. Oracle has been appointed as the platform’s trusted security provider and will independently monitor all U.S. user data, which will be stored on servers within the United States to protect against foreign surveillance, particularly from China.
“The president will be signing the official deal later this week. Under the terms, TikTok will be owned by a majority of American investors and overseen by a board of directors with deep national security and cybersecurity experience,” Leavitt told reporters.
Trump revealed last week that Chinese President Xi Jinping had given his approval for the deal, following a phone conversation between the two leaders. Shortly after their discussion, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance announced it would comply with the requirements needed to ensure the app’s continued operation in the U.S., while also adhering to Chinese law.
The deal comes after the Biden administration previously passed legislation to ban TikTok unless ByteDance divested its ownership stake. While the ban was set to take effect on January 19, 2025, the Trump administration has delayed enforcement as negotiations progressed. According to reports by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, the final agreement will see American investors control up to 80 percent of TikTok, with Chinese firms, including ByteDance, retaining a 20 percent stake.
As Trump prepares to host Sharif, the dual focus on strengthening U.S.-Pakistan ties and securing TikTok’s future in America highlights the administration’s balancing act between diplomacy and domestic digital security.
