Russia's foreign minister set to reach Pakistan for two-day official visit tomorrow

• Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov  would first travel to India before landing in Pakistan.
• Lavrov to also meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and other top Pakistani officials.
• "Entire gamut of Pakistan-Russia bilateral ties, future cooperation in diverse fields, regional & intl. issues will be discussed" during his visit.

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Ministry announced Monday that Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to reach Pakistan for a two-day official visit tomorrow (April 6).

Lavrov and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would hold delegation-level talks wherein the two FMs would talk bilateral ties and cooperation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said on Twitter.

"The entire gamut of Pakistan-Russia bilateral ties, future cooperation in diverse fields, regional & intl. issues will be discussed," Chaudhri added.

The Foreign Ministry in its statement said the Russian official's visit "is part of the growing interaction and regular high-level exchanges" between the two nations.

"The visit of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will contribute to further deepening of the multifaceted bilateral relationship and enhancing mutual understanding on regional and global issues," it added.

Lavrov would be travelling to New Delhi, India, as part of his South Asia tour before landing at the Islamabad airport.

Lavrov — who, according to a media report, would be accompanied by Russia's presidential envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov — will also meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and other top officials of Pakistan.

This will be the first visit of a Russian foreign minister to Pakistan since 2012.

FM Qureshi last met his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek in June 2019 and the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting in Moscow in September 2020.

The two countries "enjoy friendly and cooperative relations based on mutual respect, trust and understanding", the foreign ministry's statement added.

"Bilateral cooperation is growing across a wide range of areas of common interest including in security and defence, counter-terrorism, and the Afghan peace process.

"Over the recent past, deepening collaboration in economic, trade and energy sectors has been the focus of the two governments."