ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is scheduled to reach New York on Tuesday to attend a United Nations conference on global food security in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, though his visit is widely viewed as an attempt to rebuild US-Pakistan relationship.

The US and Pakistan remained close allies for decades during the Cold War period. However, the recent war in Afghanistan strained their relations which hit a new low after former prime minister Imran Khan accused Washington of backing his political rivals, now in government, in its bid to oust him from power.

The Pakistani foreign minister has now been invited by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to attend the UN conference, Global Food Security Call to Action, which will be held on May 18.

“Pakistan can still be a helpful partner,” Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert in Washington, told Dawn newspaper while analyzing the upcoming US visit of the Pakistani minister.

That explains “why Washington has never opted for a divorce from Islamabad — despite their many incompatibilities,” he added.

According to the foreign office of Pakistan, Bhutto-Zardari will have several diplomatic engagements on the sidelines of the UN event, “including a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.”

The statement said the UN meeting “will bring together a regionally diverse group of countries including those most affected by food insecurity and those in a position to take action to address it.”

The foreign office added that “ministers will be invited to speak on humanitarian needs and longer-term development efforts required to save lives and build resilience for the future.”

The foreign minister will also participate in the open debate of the UN Security Council on “Maintenance of International Peace and Security – Conflict and Food Security” under the US presidency of the council on May 19.

The official statement said he would highlight Pakistan’s perspective and policy priorities in the two meetings and tell the international community that his country would continue its role to “advance shared objectives of a peaceful and stable world free of conflict, and poverty and hunger.”