Goa: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Goa, India.
According to reports, the two counterparts discussed bilateral, regional and international matters of mutual interest during the meeting.
FM Bilawal assured FM Lavrov that Pakistan would continue to work closely with Moscow to further deepen cooperation in the realms of food security, energy and people-to-people contacts, adding that the SCO had opened “new vistas of cooperation and coordination with Russia”.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a press release on the meeting, adding that the two sides also exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan.
🇷🇺🇵🇰 4 мая С.В.#Лавров провел встречу с главой МИД Пакистана Б.Бхутто-Зардари.
Стороны обсудили текущее состояние российско-пакистанских отношений, региональную и международную проблематику.
🔗 Подробнее: https://t.co/suCsWvc30Z pic.twitter.com/SZnDmdfhS8
— МИД России 🇷🇺 (@MID_RF) May 4, 2023
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari departed for India on Thursday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.
Before his departure, Bilawal — Pakistan’s youngest foreign minister — said that he was looking forward to “engaging bilaterally” countries that were part of the SCO.
It is pertinent to mention that Bilawal’s visit to India is the first visit by a Pakistani foreign minister to New Delhi in over a decade. The invitation to attend the meeting came from the current Chair of SCO CFM, Dr S. Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs of India.
“During my visit, which is focused exclusively on the SCO, I look forward to constructive discussions with my counterparts from friendly countries,” he said.
In a video message alongside his tweet, the foreign minister also stated that he was looking forward to “engaging bilaterally” with countries that were part of the organisation.
