ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has made 20 foreign trips after assuming the portfolio on April 27. According to a press statement issued by Foreign Office Spokesperson on Sunday, Bilawal toured thrice each to the United States and the United Arab Emirates, while two each to Saudi Arabia, China, and Uzbekistan.

Foreign Minister Bhutto took charge as Foreign Minister on April 2022, after which he paid 20 visits to 11 countries, of which 13 were individual visits as Foreign Minister, while seven were accompanied by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Foreign Minister also visited Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Germany, Switzerland, Cambodia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

However, the foreign minister claimed that he bore the expenses of tickets and hotels during his foreign visits to reduce the financial burden on the national exchequer.

“I do not burden the national exchequer with the expenses of my abroad visits and even if I do, it is my prerogative as a foreign minister. I am the only Foreign Minister of Pakistan who purchases his own ticket and pays his own hotel bill.”

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahira Baloch also confirmed that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid the expenses of official trips by himself.