Islamabad, Nov 9 (IANS): Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka next week, state media reported Saturday.

The 23rd CHOGM is scheduled to be held in Colombo Nov 15-17.

Prime Minister Sharif is scheduled to leave for Colombo Nov 14, Xinhua reported citing Radio Pakistan.

On the sidelines of the Commonwealth meeting, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with other heads of state including the Sri Lanka president to discuss promotion of bilateral trade.

The theme of this year's CHOGM meeting is "Growth With Equity".

The foreign secretary will represent Pakistan at the ministerial-level meeting to be held prior to the summit, the Pakistan foreign office said.

A meeting of the Commonwealth Business Forum will also be held in Colombo. The chairman of Pakistan's Board of Investment will attend the business forum.

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 independent countries, all former colonies of Britain.

Every two years, Commonwealth leaders meet at CHOGM to discuss global and Commonwealth issues.