Ukraine FM Dmytro Kuleba to visit Pakistan – statement

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit Pakistan on a day trip on Thursday, a Pakistani foreign ministry statement said on Wednesday, against a backdrop of Islamabad’s warming relations with Russia.

Kuleba’s visit is the first ministerial visit from Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1993, the statement said.

Islamabad has been building ties with Moscow and has recently begun importing discounted Russian crude oil to meet its local demands and save on foreign exchange reserves.

Kuleba will meet his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“It is expected to contribute to further strengthening of bilateral ties between the two countries,” the statement said.

Islamabad has also lately been importing wheat from Ukraine.

The Pakistani foreign ministry didn’t provide an agenda for the visit.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad)

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