PM Imran's upcoming Russia visit to give impetus to bilateral ties: FM

Pakistan 'pursuing economic priorities', says foreign minister

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday said that the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Russia will give impetus to bilateral relations in diverse sectors.

In a statement, the minister stated that during the visit, the premier will hold talks with the Russian leadership on bilateral cooperation, including the North-South Gas Pipeline project.

“We are pursuing economic priorities”, Qureshi said.

He further stated that Russia had influence with Central Asian states and Pakistan was looking forward to expanding ties with those countries.

According to Qureshi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pakistan and had an “excellent” meeting with him at the Foreign Office, and Qureshi had also visited Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart.

The country's top diplomat maintained that Pakistan’s relations with Russia were gradually improving. Conversely, FM Qureshi highlighted that Pakistan had good relations with the United States.

Read Pakistan not becoming part of bloc politics, says FM Qureshi

“The US State Department in a statement said that Pakistan was our strategic partner,” he said, adding that Islamabad had long been allied with Washington.

OIC meeting

Commenting on the upcoming meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's Foreign Ministers in Islamabad, he said that foreign delegates will visit Pakistan on March 22 to attend the meeting and would also attend the National Day parade on March 23.

Afghanistan situation

About the ongoing Afghan situation, FM Qureshi said that the entire world acknowledged that Pakistan assisted in the evacuation of more than 90,000 people from the war-torn country.

“Russia is playing an important role in the peace and stability of Afghanistan,” he added.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)