Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Russia this week for a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Monday.
“During the Summit meeting, the two leaders will review the entire array of bilateral relations including energy cooperation,” it stated.
“They will also have wide-ranging exchange of views on major regional and international issues, including Islamophobia and situation in Afghanistan.”
“I received the invitation from President Putin much earlier. The purpose of the visit is to engage with Russia on areas of mutual interests, especially in the economic domain,” he said in the interview published on Monday.
Khan also reiterated that Pakistan will not join any global camp politics, as it seeks to maintain “good relations with all major powers.”
The sources claimed that the loan proposal had been finalized, and the agreement with China was set to be signed during Khan’s February visit to Beijing.
Relations between Pakistan and Russia were minimal for years as Islamabad sided with the United States in the Cold War and was given Major Non-NATO Ally status by Washington after U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001.
However, relations between the United States and Pakistan have deteriorated in recent years, and there has been a thawing between Moscow and Islamabad, resulting in the planning of projects in the gas and energy sectors.
Earlier this month, Khan said in an interview with the China Global Television Network that Pakistan intends to play a role in easing tensions between China and the United States to avoid “another Cold War.”
He cited former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s visit to Beijing in 1971, which was organized by Pakistan, saying that his country was instrumental in bringing the two countries together at the time.
Khan stated that his administration wishes to replay that role because he believes that having another Cold War would not benefit anyone.
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