ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan will become the first prime minister of Pakistan in over two decades to embark on a bilateral visit to Russia, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi confirmed Monday.
Nawaz Sharif was the last leader to tour Moscow in April 1999, months before the October coup of his army chief Pervez Musharraf, the first trip to Russia of a head of Pakistan’s government since 1974.
In recent years, the two nations have tried to broaden and deepen their relations, with Russia lifting a longstanding arms embargo in 2014 which it had imposed on Pakistan decades ago.
Khan’s visit is taking place at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.
“Our relations with Russia have gradually improved,” Qureshi said in a statement. “Now Putin has invited Khan to visit Russia and [the prime minister] will go to Moscow this month.”
“I think our relations with Russia are undergoing a pleasant change,” he added.
On the agenda of the visit would be bilateral ties, the situation in Afghanistan, including talks of defence cooperation and commitments to take forward the 1,100-km-long Pakistan Steam Gas Pipeline.
Setting up of the pipeline is aimed at facilitating the transfer of imported gas from Karachi to the load centre in Punjab.
The initiative has remained on hold since 2015 due to disagreements over cost and the United States’ sanctions against the Russian state conglomerate Rostec.
In September 2021, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Pakistan and held wide-ranging talks covering bilateral relations and regional and global issues.
Pakistan’s increased diplomatic engagements with Russia are understood to be part of the government’s quest to diversify its foreign policy.
In April 2018, General Qamar Javed Bajwa became the third consecutive army chief to visit Moscow. His trip resulted in the setting up of a Joint Military Commission between the two countries.
In return, Russia is also increasing diplomatic efforts to revive ties with Pakistan through the $2.5 billion natural gas project while offering to bolster anti-terrorism support.
Analysts see the moves as a bid to acquire a new energy market to offset declining business from the West and to increase regional heft as the US deepens ties with India after its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
