Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reached Pakistan for a two-day visit, the first in the last nine years, reported Dawn. He will today hold discussions with Pakistan military and civilian leaders on Afghanistan, bilateral ties, and economic cooperation among other issues. 

Lavrov reached Islamabad on Monday directly from India where he concluded his single-day visit and held discussions with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. 

The Russian foreign ministry issued a statement on Tuesday, “The parties plan to discuss the current state and prospects for the development of bilateral relations with an emphasis on cooperation in the trade, economic and counter-terrorism fields, exchange views on topical issues of the international and regional agenda."

Calling Pakistan an “important foreign policy partner”, Russia said, “The cooperation between Moscow and Islamabad is based on the coincidence or similarity of positions on most of the problems of the world community, including issues of strategic stability and countering terrorism,"  

The visit comes at a time when there is a renewed regional and international push for peace efforts in Afghanistan. The statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry called the situation in Afghanistan a “common concern” for both countries.

“We look forward to an early finding of a constructive solution in order to end the civil war in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan through agreements on the formation of an inclusive government with the participation of the Taliban movement,” the statement said.