PM Imran to visit Russia in September

–PM will attend Eastern Economic Forum as President Putin’s special guest

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan is due to visit Russia in September on the invitation of President Vladimir Putin, sources said on Saturday.

The Russian strongman had extended the invitation to Prime Minister Imran Khan during their conversation at the Meeting of the Council of the Heads of State (CHS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Bishkek.

They said Putin invited PM Imran Khan to attend as a special guest at the Eastern Economic Forum, which is scheduled to be held from Sept 4 to 6 in the Russian city of Vladivostok.

During their meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian leader had expressed his desire to have good relations with Pakistan. President Vladimir Putin and PM Imran Khan were also seen seated next to each other during the summit.

Imran Khan him that his country too wanted to promote and expand ties with Russia.

The two leaders discussed the regional and international situation over the dinner table. It was also decided to promote bilateral relations at the highest level.

In an interview to Russian news agency Sputnik in June following the SCO summit, Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government has been mulling the purchase of arms from Moscow, given the fact that the Cold War was long over.

Asked about military cooperation between Pakistan and Russia and joint drills later this year, he said they had developed cooperation with Russia between their defence forces and hoped to deepen their contacts.

“Most of the 50s, 60s and 70s were spent in the Cold War region, where India was close to the Soviet Union, and Pakistan was close to the United States. We were in different camps. Now things have changed,” the Pakistan premier said.

“India is also friendly with the United States, and Pakistan is also friendly with the US. So we no longer have the Cold War situation. It is refreshing that we have developed our contacts with Russia, and they are developing all the time.”

Responding to a question about the import of Russian weapons, he said, “As I’ve said, once the Cold War was over. Previously Pakistan was tied to the US, and, as we all know, India was tied to the Soviet Union. And no longer is that situation there. First, we hope that our tension with India decreases, so we do not have to buy arms because we want to spend money on human development”.

“But, yes, we are looking for arms from Russia, and I know our military is already in touch with the Russian military,” Khan commented.

Regarding the prospects of Pak-Russia cooperation within the SCO, he said they look forward to having exchanges, develop more contacts and improve their trade.

“Russia is an energy-surplus country. Pakistan has shortages in energy, so we hope to talk on those areas. We already are. Apart from defence, we want to also improve our trade in other areas with Russia,” the prime minister was quoted as saying.