Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrived in Moscow late Sunday in an effort to finalize an oil deal between cash-strapped Pakistan and Russia, the foreign ministry said.
The visit came after a Russian delegation visited Pakistan to attend the eighth Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting in Islamabad this month.
Russian delegations have signed several MoUs with Pakistan on various fronts, providing cheap crude oil to the cash-strapped country, which has struggled for months to meet its energy needs due to a severe foreign exchange crisis. We have conceptually agreed to this.
With Pakistan’s economy deteriorating and its foreign exchange reserves dwindling to a staggering $3.6 billion, Russia agreed this month that Pakistan pay for its energy imports in friendly currencies.
Mumtaz Zahra Baruchi, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, said on Twitter: “Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has arrived in Moscow for an official visit. The foreign minister was welcomed by senior officials of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shaukat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia, and embassy officials. it placed.” .
Over the decades, Pakistan-Russia relations have experienced many ups and downs, mostly due to Islamabad’s alliance with Washington. However, relations between the two countries have warmed in recent years as India and the United States of America (US) draw closer on global issues.
The previous statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan stated: “The Foreign Minister will hold official talks with Russian diplomats, in which the two countries will discuss the full range of bilateral relations and present their views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. “I will replace it.”
Reuters reported on Friday that Fortunost, an independent Russian oil refiner, has for the first time signed a contract to send 1,000 tons of Russian gasoline by road to Pakistan.
The development comes days after State Department spokesman Ned Price said “now is not the time” to strengthen economic ties with Russia.
