ADDS STAKEOUT OF DEPUTY PREMIERS, CHANGES LEDE, HEADER, DECK, EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Aamir Latif and Islamuddin Sajid
KARACHI/ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan and Russia agreed Wednesday to bolster cooperation on multiple issues concerning regional and global forums, including the Gaza Strip.
“Russia’s stance on Gaza is very clear. And so was ours," Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said at a media stakeout along with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk in Islamabad.
“The two countries have been voicing together on the Gaza issue on all international and regional forums, including the UN and the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation). And we will continue to do that in the future,“ said Dar, as he appreciated Moscow’s “principled” stance on Palestine, where Israeli forces have killed more than 41,000 victims, including women and children since last October.
He said Islamabad and Moscow have had “good cooperation” on Afghanistan, and Pakistan is committed to working with Russia for peace in the region.
Overchuk, who arrived in Pakistan for a two-day visit earlier in the day, said Russia is interested in expanding cooperation with Islamabad in trade, the economy, energy, connectivity, agriculture and people-to-people contact.
He said the two sides discussed prospects of Pakistan’s inclusion in the five-member Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
In response to a question, he said Moscow will help Pakistan secure full membership in the BRICS bloc.
“We are happy that Pakistan has applied for BRICS membership. We support the enlargement of this important forum,” he said.
Dar said bilateral trade volume hit $1 billion last year, which is an indication of growing trade and economic relations between the two countries.
The two sides held delegation-level talks earlier and reviewed the “entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation and agreed to pursue robust dialogue and cooperation in areas of trade, industry, energy, connectivity, science, technology and education,” according to a statement from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
They also agreed to continue coordination on multilateral fora including at the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation.
Overchuk is scheduled to meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
It is the first high-level visit by Russia to Islamabad since April 2021.
In 2021, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Pakistan, which was the first visit by a Russian foreign minister to Pakistan since 2012.
Relations between Moscow and Islamabad have been growing steadily as trade between the two countries exceeded a historic milestone of $1 billion last year.
The two countries signed an agreement to build the 1,100-kilometer (683.5-mile) Pakistan Stream natural gas pipeline, formerly known as the North-South Pipeline, in 2021.
The pipeline aims to carry 12.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.
In March, Sharif said Islamabad wants to boost cooperation with Russia in several areas, especially in energy, trade and investment.
Russia also agreed last year to provide oil and gas to Pakistan at "discounted" rates to meet Islamabad's rising domestic and industrial energy needs."