Prince William and Kate to visit Pakistan in 2019: Kensington Palace

LONDON: Prince William and Duchess Kate will visit Pakistan in the autumn at the request of Britain’s Foreign Office, Kensington Palace said on Saturday.

Further details will be provided in due course, their office said.

Pakistan’s high commissioner in London welcomed the announcement.

“The upcoming Royal Visit is a reflection of the importance the United Kingdom attaches to its relations with Pakistan,” said Mohammad Nafees Zakaria.

“The two countries enjoy historical links which both sides wish to strengthen further,” he said.

The visit comes 13 years after Charles and Camilla -- the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwell -- toured the country in 2006.

But Pakistan still vividly remembers the late Princess Diana’s visit in 1996.

She travelled to Islamabad, scenic northern areas and Lahore, where she was welcomed by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan -- now Pakistan’s prime minister after his party’s victory in last year’s election.

Diana -- who was friends with Khan -- also attended a fundraising event of his Shaukat Khanam Memorial Cancer Hospital.

Britain is home to more than a million people of Pakistani origin, making it the largest Pakistani diaspora in Europe.

Bilateral trade between the two countries was worth almost three billion pounds sterling (US$4 billion) in 2017, with the UK currently Pakistan’s third largest source of foreign investment after China and the Netherlands, according to Britain’s Department of International Trade.

British Airways also landed back in Pakistan early this month, in a major vote of confidence from a Western airline, after suspending operations due to security fears over a decade ago.