Pakistan wants to take multifaceted relationship with UK to next level, PM Shehbaz tells Boris

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Thursday his UK counterpart, Boris Johnson, for offering him felicitations on holding the office of the prime minister, saying he wants to take the multifaceted relationship with UK to the next level.

A day earlier, PM Johnson congratulated PM Shehbaz and said that he wanted to work with Pakistan's newly elected premier.

"The UK & Pakistan have a longstanding relationship and our people share deep ties. I look forward to working together on areas of shared interest," the UK's PM had said.

On Sunday, following the ouster of PTI chairman Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion, PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif was elected as Pakistan’s 23rd PM.

Responding to the UK PM’s statement, PM Shehbaz vowed to expand the bilateral ties and strong friendship between the two countries.

“Thank you Mr. Prime Minister for your message of felicitation. Pakistan and UK share deep-rooted & broad-based ties. I look forward to working closely with you to further expand our longstanding friendship & take our multifaceted relationship to the next level,” said PM Shehbaz.

On Sunday, Shehbaz took oath as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan. Since then, congratulatory messages from heads of state around the world have started pouring in for PM Shehbaz.

In the wee hours of Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and vowed to continue cooperation with the new Pakistan government.

Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin had also congratulated Shehbaz on becoming the 23rd premier of Pakistan.