ISLAMABAD: In a ‘new turn’ in relations, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Islamabad on a two-day official visit today, Tuesday, to hold delegation-level talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi and meet with Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed the Russian counterpart at the Islamabad airport. Lavrov is visiting Islamabad after nearly nine years.
H.E. Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation arrives in Islamabad for his official visit. Foreign Minister @SMQureshiPTI received his Russian counterpart. @mfa_russia @RusEmbPakistan @PakinRussia#RussianFMinPakistan pic.twitter.com/86zgU97VPJ
— SpokespersonMoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) April 6, 2021
Hours before Lavrov’s arrival in the Pakistani capital, Qureshi said in a video message: “Russia is the most important country in this region, no one can deny its strategic significance and value. The visit clearly indicates that Pakistan’s ties with Russia are taking a new turn.”
Qureshi also said there was much to discuss between the two countries and placed special emphasis on improving bilateral economic ties and defense cooperation.
“Russia supplied us wheat to stabilize market prices when we recently faced a flour crisis in Pakistan,” the Pakistani foreign minister said.
In recent years, Pakistan’s former adversary Russia has been attempting to build military, diplomatic and economic ties that could upend historic alliances in the region and open up a fast-growing gas market for Moscow’s energy companies.
Though the Moscow-Islamabad rapprochement is in its infancy, a slew of energy deals and growing military cooperation promise to spark life into the Russia-Pakistan relationship that was dead for many decades.
A major project is a gas pipeline due to be built by Russia and stretching 1,100 km (680 miles) from Lahore to the port city of Karachi.
The cozier diplomatic ties have so far also focused on Afghanistan, where Russia has cultivated ties to the Afghan Taliban militants who are fighting US troops and have historic links to Islamabad. Moscow says it is encouraging peace negotiations.
Qureshi said the Pakistani side would also highlight investment opportunities during Lavrov’s visit, including the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills that was built with Soviet assistance in the 1970s, but is now dysfunctional.
Pakistan developed diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Union in 1948, though these ties witnessed ups and downs during the Cold War period. Relations between the two countries particularly deteriorated after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, followed by Pakistan’s decision to provide assistance to Afghan militias resisting the Russian Red Army.
In recent years, however, Pakistan and Russia have strived to improve relations in response to the strengthening of diplomatic relations between India and the United States.
According to a statement released by the Pakistani foreign office on Monday, the two sides plan to review their bilateral relations during Lavrov’s visit and discuss ways to broaden and deepen cooperation in diverse fields.
“Pakistan and Russia enjoy friendly and cooperative relations based on mutual respect, trust and understanding,” the foreign office statement said.
It added: “Bilateral cooperation is growing across a wide range of areas of common interest including in security and defense, 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.”
During a trip to Moscow in 2018 by Pakistan’s then foreign minister, Khawaja Asif, the two countries announced plans to establish a commission on military cooperation to combat the threat of IS in the region.
They also agreed to continue annual military training exercises that began in 2016 and followed the sale of four Russian attack helicopters to Pakistan, as well as the purchase of Russian engines for the Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 fighter jets that Pakistan’s military assembles on its own soil.
Russia and Pakistan have also been negotiating potential energy deals worth in excess of $10 billion, according to Pakistani energy officials. The biggest deals focus is on gas supply and infrastructure to Pakistan, one of the world’s fastest growing liquefied natural gas (LNG) import markets.
In October 2018, Pakistan and Russia signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) on energy, paving the way for Russian state-giant Gazprom to enter negotiations to supply LNG to Pakistan.
