Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, is embarking on a two-day official journey to Moscow, starting January 29th.
The trip is at the invitation of Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov. The two leaders will hold official discussions to delve into the entire range of bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international matters of mutual interest.
Bilawal will meet with Lavrov on January 30th, a week after Pakistan and Russia inked an agreement for the provision of Russian crude oil and oil products. Despite being preoccupied with Ukraine, Russia still extended this invitation, a demonstration of the thawing of relations between the two nations, and a chance to delve deeper into the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.
After the conclusion of the annual inter-governmental commission on January 20th, Islamabad and Moscow agreed on late March as the deadline for crude oil export. This is a major milestone for Pakistan, as the country is grappling with a severe economic crisis.