BEIJING: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to deepening ties with Pakistan, expressing the need to expand cooperation across multiple sectors during a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
President Putin recalled his previous meeting with the Pakistani premier in Astana last year, saying both sides had since agreed to intensify their relations.
“Pakistan has always been Russia’s traditional partner in Asia, and it remains so. We greatly value these ties,” he said, while underlining the need to boost bilateral trade.
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He also noted Pakistan’s recent natural calamities and expressed sorrow over the devastation caused by floods.
Putin further pointed out that Moscow and Islamabad maintained cooperation at inter-parliamentary levels and within the framework of the United Nations, where Pakistan is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.
The Russian president invited PM Shehbaz to attend the SCO summit to be held in Russia this November.
Prime Minister Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan’s determination to broaden collaboration with Russia, particularly in trade, energy, agriculture, steel, transport, and connectivity projects.
He said Pakistan viewed stronger ties with Russia as “a balancing act in the region”, while stressing that such cooperation would not undermine Moscow’s ties with India. “These relations would be supplementary and complementary,” he noted.
The premier highlighted last year’s spike in bilateral trade following Pakistan’s oil imports from Russia and pointed to a series of high-level visits and protocols signed since the Astana meeting.
He also underlined the importance of the trade corridor linking Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, saying it would spur regional prosperity.
PM Shehbaz reached Beijing from Tianjin by bullet train after attending the 25th SCO Council of Heads of State meeting. He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and SAPM Tariq Fatemi.
Earlier in the day, the premier also met Chinese President Xi Jinping, where both leaders reaffirmed their strong resolve to deepen the Pakistan-China partnership.
PM Shehbaz lauded Beijing’s progress, saying Pakistan was “very proud of China’s achievements” and remained committed to working together on the next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
President Xi, in turn, assured Pakistan of China’s continued support, noting that CPEC had now entered its second phase with a focus on Pakistan’s critical economic sectors.
