Islamabad, Oct 12 (PTI) Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev arrived in Pakistan on Monday on a four-day visit during which he would hold “important discussions” with the country’s top leadership, the interior ministry said.
Minister of State Talal Chaudhry accorded a warm welcome to the Russian minister upon his arrival in Islamabad.
During his stay in Islamabad, Kolokoltsev would hold “important discussions” with Pakistan’s top leadership on strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation, the interior ministry said in a statement.
“This marks the first-ever visit to Pakistan by a Russian Interior Minister,” it said, adding that the visit opens a new chapter in bilateral ties.
Pakistan’s ties with Russia have moved past the bitter Cold War hostilities in recent years. The two countries are not just exploring options to deepen economic ties, but Russia is also keen to sell arms to Pakistan, something it avoided in the past because of India’s opposition.
In January, President Vladimir Putin had said his country’s ties with Pakistan were “genuinely mutually beneficial” and that it maintained close ties with Islamabad.
“We maintain close cooperation with Pakistan, a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the largest regional organisation in terms of economic, technological, and human potential. Russia-Pakistan relations are genuinely mutually beneficial,” the Embassy of Russia in Pakistan quoted President Putin as saying. PTI SH ZH
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