ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will visit Moscow on January 29-30 to discuss the “entire spectrum” of bilateral relations as well as issues of mutual interest between the two countries, the Pakistani foreign office said on Saturday.

The visit comes more than a week after a Russian delegation came to Pakistan to attend the 8th Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) meetings in Islamabad. The Eastern-European delegation signed multiple memoranda of understanding with Pakistan in different sectors and also conceptually agreed to provide cheap crude oil to the cash-strapped country, which has been struggling for months to meet its energy needs due to a severe forex crunch.

In view of Pakistan’s deteriorating economic conditions and its forex reserves declining to a staggering $3.6 billion, Russia also said it would allow Pakistan to pay for the energy imports in currencies of friendly countries.

“Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will undertake an official visit to Moscow at the invitation of Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov from 29-30 January 2023,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.

“The foreign minister will hold official talks with his Russian counterpart where the two sides would deliberate upon the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.”

Historically, relations between Pakistan and Russia saw many ups and downs, mainly due to the former’s alliance with the United States (US). But in recent years, relations between the two states have warmed up as a countermeasure to warming ties between India and the US.

Earlier this week, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said “now is not the time” to bolster economic ties with Russia, as the West continues to find ways to curtail Moscow’s finances due to its invasion of Ukraine.

The Pakistani government, however, reiterated that the South Asian country would go ahead with the oil deal with Russia, adding that all deals will be finalized by March and oil will arrive in Pakistan by the end of April.