Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met United States President Donald Trump during the reception banquet hosted by the latter in honour of world leaders, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last month, according to details released by the Press Information Department (PID) on Thursday.

The PID shared photographs, released by the White House, of the two leaders standing together, smiling and shaking hands.

No further details about the interaction were provided.

The UNGA debate ran from Sept 22 to 26, with a final sitting on Sept 28. PM Shehbaz addressed the session on Sept 25 and was also mentioned by US President Donald Trump in his speech, who called him a “terrific man”. The premier also held bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA with world leaders, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The premier’s official visit to New York, him meeting Trump and his participation in the UNGA debate came as Pakistan plays the role of a mediator for de-escalation between the US and Iran.

Earlier this year, PM Shehbaz and Trump were also together at the signing of the charter for the “Board of Peace” — which has been constituted primarily to provide a roadmap to end the Israeli assault in Gaza — in January.

Then, they also met at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, DC in February.

State-run APP reported that an informal meeting was held between the two at the end of the summit.

During the interaction, the two leaders expressed mutual goodwill and shook hands, the APP report said, adding that the US president also embraced PM Shehbaz.

The premier had also met with Trump, alongside other world leaders, at a ceremony following the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas at the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit in Egypt in October 2025.

The two leaders had met for the first time at the Oval Office in Washington on September 25, 2025 in which they discussed regional security and cooperation among other matters. This was also around a UNGA session.

The premier was accompanied by Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, while the US president was joined by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The two sides had discussed regional security and cooperation along the lines of counter-terrorism, among other matters.