LAHORE: The Soviet Prime Minister, Mr A.N. Kosygin, tonight [April 19] paid warm tributes to President Mohammad Ayub Khan for all that he had done to increase friendship between the peoples of the Soviet Union and Pakistan.

Speaking at a banquet given in his honour by the Governor of West Pakistan, Mr Mohammad Musa, in the Darbar Hall of the Governor’s House, Mr Kosygin thanked the Governor and the people of Lahore for the cordial reception given to their Soviet guests in this historic city. He wished prosperity to the people of Pakistan and said that the friendship between the peoples of Pakistan and the Soviet Union “will be eternal”.

Earlier, Governor Musa, proposing a toast to Mr Kosygin, wished the Soviet Prime Minister and the other Soviet guests the best of health and long life. He also expressed his best wishes for the prosperity of the great Soviet people and for a lasting friendship between the Soviet and Pakistani peoples. — Agency

[Meanwhile, as reported by an agency in Karachi,] King Feisal of Saudi Arabia has set up a special committee to suggest measures for strengthening economic relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Minister for Petroleum and Mineral, Ahmed Zaki Yamani, said in Karachi yesterday [April 18].

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2018