Russia President Putin invites PM Imran to economic moot

PM Imran has been invited to attend the Eastern Economic Forum

ISLAMABAD: President Vladimir Putin has invited Prime Minister Imran Khan to a key economic conference in September in a far eastern Russian city.

The prime minister is learnt to have accepted Putin’s invitation to attend the Eastern Economic Forum scheduled to be held from Sept 4 to 6 in Vladivostok

The EEF was established by a presidential decree in 2015. It takes place every year in the same city.

The EEF serves as a platform for discussion on important issues in global economy, regional integration, and development of new industrial and technological sectors, as well as of the global challenges facing Russia and other nations.

The Russian president’s invitation came days after Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed that Premier Imran will be meeting US President Donald Trump on July 22.

The invitation to Premier Imran to attend EEF shows that Islamabad and Moscow have buried the bitter past to usher in a new era of friendship and cooperation.

Last month, the prime minister met President Putin on the margins of a summit meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

In June, the premier said Islamabad is hopeful of increasing military ties with Moscow. Russia and Pakistan have been holding joint military drills — Dhruzba — since 2016.

In May, a Russian diplomat in Islamabad said that Pakistan is an important partner for Russia with its significance determined by its role in regional politics, its influence in the Muslim world and its geostrategic position.