ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday said upcoming visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Russia will give impetus to the bilateral relations in diverse sectors.

In a statement, he said during the visit, the Prime Minister will hold talks with the Russian leadership on bilateral cooperation, including North-South Gas Pipeline project. Talking about the upcoming meeting of Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Foreign Ministers in Islamabad, he said the foreign delegates will visit Pakistan on March 22 to attend the meeting and will also witness National Day parade on March 23.

About Afghanistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said entire world acknowledges that Pakistan assisted in evacuation of more than 90,000 people from the war-torn country. “We are pursuing economic priorities”, the Foreign Minister said. He said Russia had influence with Central Asian states and Pakistan was looking forward to expanding ties with those countries.

He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pakistan and had an “excellent” meeting with him at the Foreign Office, and he (Qureshi) had also visited Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart. He said Pakistan’s relations with Russia were gradually improving. He said Pakistan had good relations with the United States. He said Russia is playing an important role in the peace and stability of Afghanistan.