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Pakistan Gears Up To Host Russian President Putin Next Month
After a long time, Pakistan and Russia are strengthening bilateral relations. Pakistan and Russia signed a fresh agreement to lay a gas pipeline between Karachi to Kasur. Also Russia is keen to sell arms to Pakistan.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Islamabad in April after 9 years. Lavrov came with a message to strengthen ties between both two countries.
Now an official tour of Russian President Vladimir Putin is on cards. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has already extended a formal invitation to President Putin
Putin was scheduled to visit Pakistan earlier this year, but his visit was delayed due to the COVID pandemic.
This was announced by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in an official statement
In the light of Pakistan's recent tension with the United States over CIA bases in Afghanistan post-withdrawal, the scheduled visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin has become even more crucial for future regional alliances.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov toured Pakistan in April after 9 years and apart from other bilateral issues, Express Tribune and others quoted sources inside Pakistan's Foreign Ministry that Sergey has offered a diplomatic ‘blank cheque’ on the behalf of President Putin, implying that Moscow is ready for any kind of cooperation with Islamabad, whatever Pakistan needs.
Last month reports came of Russia Pakistan signing the agreement of building 1100km long Pakistan Steam Gas Pipeline Project worth 2.25 billion $, anticipated to haul 12.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas every year from Karachi to Kasur. The initial signing of the agreement happened in 2015 but the project was postponed for several untold reasons.
The intergovernmental agreement signed in 2015 had proposed 100% of the building to Russia while the revised model suggests 74% stakes for Pakistan. What's important that Pakistan has opened to this project despite the risk of U.S sanctions on Russian companies. The groundbreaking of the project is foreseen to be held later this year or in early 2022. Apart from the economic significance, the project also holds considerable strategic value for Pakistan.
Pakistan and Russia are also closely negotiating and observing the Afghan Peace process which will also be on the agenda of the planned visit of the Russian President.
Russia has been reluctant to sell arms historically owing to its close ties with India but experts have also signaling for a policy change in this regard, considering both armies have been conducting joint exercises since 2016. Russia and Pakistan have come a long way since the Cold War and the Afghan War era but how long? That's what we are about to find in the due visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
pakistanfrontier.com
After Pakistan and Russia signed a fresh agreement to lay a gas pipeline, prospects of Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting Islamabad for the very first time were on the cards
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