Moscow sees Islamabad as one of its priority partners in Asia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand.
"We consider Pakistan one of our priority partners, both in Southeast Asia and in Asia as a whole. The relations between our countries are developing in an absolutely positive way, and we are very happy about this," the Russian leader stressed.
Putin stated that relations between the two countries are very positive in various directions. "Of course, the first thing we should pay attention to is trade and economic ties. Unfortunately, we have to state that as a result of the pandemic there was a slight decrease in our trade turnover over the past year. But this fall Karachi (a city in the south of Pakistan - TASS) will host the next meeting of the intergovernmental commission. I very much hope that our colleagues from both sides will be able to find ways not only to restore but also to increase trade turnover," said the Russian head of state.
According to his assessment, Moscow and Islamabad have work to do. "We have good prospects in various sectors - in rail transport, in the energy sector," the Russian president listed.
Putin also said he was very happy to meet and get to know Sharif. Previously, the Russian president had been in contact with his brother, Nawaz Sharif, who was also prime minister of Pakistan. "I recall with warmth working meetings with your brother, we met with him also on the margins of the SCO. It was, I think, in Kazakhstan and in Russia, in Bashkiria," he shared.
At the beginning of the meeting, which essentially was their first meeting, Putin and Shahbaz Sharif greeted each other in English.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS