Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov will arrive in Islamabad tomorrow (Wednesday) on a two-day visit to hold talks with Pakistani leadership on important bilateral, regional and global issues and to discuss ways to expand cooperation in the fields of defence and economy.
“The foreign minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, will be visiting Islamabad for bilateral consultations from October 3-4, 2012. He is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar extended during her last visit to Moscow in February,” said a Foreign Office on Monday.
The visit of Russian Foreign Minister is significant as it will happen after the announcement made by Moscow a few days back about the cancellation of President Vladimir Putin’s historic visit to Islamabad scheduled for October 2 (today). “The new schedule for President Putin’s visit to Islamabad will be on top of the agenda of Foreign Minister Khar and other Pakistani officials who hold talks with the Russian foreign minister and his delegation on various issues of mutual interest,” a Pakistani diplomat said, seeking anonymity.
He said Pakistan wanted to open a new chapter in ties with Russia and authorities in Islamabad believed that the visit of the Russian president could play a vital role in this regard.
“A couple of important agreements in the field of economy were expected to be signed during the visit of the Russian leader and Pakistani authorities wait anxiously for the new dates of his (Putin) trip to Pakistani,” he said.
The Foreign Office statement, meanwhile, said, “Pakistan and Russia enjoy an excellent relationship based on mutuality of interest in enhancing greater bilateral cooperation and convergence of views on various important regional and international issues.” “The two countries also share the common objective of peace and stability in the broader region and attach importance to regional connectivity both in terms of trade and energy cooperation,” it said.