Pakistani deputy PM to leave on five-day visit to UK today

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar speaks during an event to mark the Pakistan Day at the Pakistan High Commission in London on March 20, 2024. (Photo courtesy: X/PakistaninUK/File)

• Ishaq Dar to meet British counterpart, UK parliamentarians, Pakistani diaspora community
• Pakistan and Britain, a former colonial power, share trade, education and defense ties

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will leave on an official five-day visit to the UK today, Wednesday, where he will meet top British officials as well as members of the Pakistani expat community, the foreign office said.
Pakistan and the UK, which is home to a large Pakistani diaspora, have trade, defense and education ties, among engagement in other areas. 
“Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will undertake an official visit to the United Kingdom from 4-8 September 2024,” the foreign office said in a statement. 
In the UK, Dar will meet his counterpart UK Deputy PM Angela Rayner and hold talks with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs, David Lammy. 
He will also engage with UK parliamentarians and representatives of the British-Pakistani community.
Pakistan is currently trying to engage with foreign governments and lenders to draw foreign investment as well as seek loan rollovers as the South Asian country struggles to meet external financial needs to get approval for a $7 billion IMF bailout loan.
Pakistan and the IMF reached an agreement for the 37-month loan program in July. The IMF has said the program is subject to approval from its executive board and obtaining “timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners.”