Pakistan is importing Russian crude oil at a discounted rate.

The first shipment of 45 000 metric tonnes arrived in the southern city of Karachi, just months after the two countries struck a deal. According to Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL), another 50,000 metric tonnes is expected to be delivered later this week.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has described the arrival of the Russian crude as a transformative day. He says the Russian oil cargo signals the beginning of a new relationship between Islamabad and Moscow.

Pakistan’s junior minister for petroleum, Musadik Malik, has said that petrol prices will fall in the country once the supply from Russia becomes regular.

Pakistan, the world’s fifth most populous country, is experiencing a severe economic crisis, which has resulted in a shortage of foreign currency to pay for fuel imports.

Russia meanwhile has been slapped with sanctions from Western powers for launching a military operation in Ukraine. The West had cut its oil and gas exports from Russia. Moscow however has circumvented the sanctions as China and India buys its oil.