Putin invites PM Shehbaz to SCO summit in Moscow

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday decided to further promote bilateral relationship and cooperation between both countries in various areas.

Before their meeting, conducted in Beijing, China, and aired on the national TV channels, the prime minister commended the leadership of President Putin for making genuine efforts to enhance bilateral relations with Pakistan.

He noted that following their Astana meeting during the SCO Summit, they had committed to closely cooperating to strengthen the bilateral cooperation.

He was sure that both countries would make additional efforts to enhance the bilateral relationships and cooperation, especially in trade and commerce.

Pak-Russia bilateral trade last year experienced a surge as Pakistan imported Russian oil, which resulted in a rise in the volume of trade, he said.

The prime minister, in his speech to the Russian president, uttered, “Relations between the two nations have been on the right path in the past few years because of your own interest and commitment.”

He reiterated the determination that Pakistan was also eager to further enhance the bilateral ties, which were also progressing in the right direction.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif added further that following their Astana meeting, there were a series of visits by delegations from the two countries at the higher level, and they also inked protocols for enhancing agriculture, iron, steel, energy, and transport sectors.

The prime minister also emphasized the importance of the trade corridor from Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, which would be a boost to the regional connectivity and prosperity.

Smiling with satisfaction, he added that both countries were strongly eager to develop their relations.

The prime minister also thanked the Russian president for standing by Pakistan, which was considered ‘a balancing act in the region.’

He added Pakistan held the Russian Federation’s relationship with India in respect, but they too wished to develop extremely strong relations with his country, which would be supplementary and complementary.

He conveyed that these positive relationships would contribute to the progress and prosperity of the region and pledged President Putin to cooperate closely in this regard as he had discovered him ‘a dynamic leader’.

The prime minister, in reply to the invitation of the Russian President to visit the SCO Heads of Government Summit in November, responded that he was eager to visit the nation.

President Vladimir Putin, while voicing his opinion, stated that they had met one year ago, on the sidelines of the SCO in Astana.

He stated, “Pakistan has always been their traditional partner and still is in Asia and they value such connections,” and added both sides have agreed to boost their bilateral relationship.

The president pointed out that their bilateral trade needed to be improved and to this extent, he emphasized measures for tackling the situation.

He also conveyed his sadness and genuine condolences to the government and the people of Pakistan on losses due to disasters and natural calamities such as the recent flooding.

President Putin shared the hope that with Prime Minister Sharif at the helm, Pakistan would recover from such pitfalls.

He also expressed the opinion that the two nations continued to cooperate at the inter-parliamentary levels, complementing “Pakistan is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and both nations were maintaining contacts in the ambit of the United Nations, which is a significant platform.”

He invited the prime minister to the SCO Summit in Russia in November.

Representatives of the delegations of the two countries were also there.