Pakistan considers Russia an important player in West, Central and South Asia. Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said this on Monday at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov following bilateral talks in Moscow.
"Strengthening relations with the Russian Federation remains an important priority for Pakistan. We believe that Russia-Pakistan relations serve not only our mutual national interests but also contribute to regional and global stability and security," he said.
"Pakistan considers Russia an important player in West, Central and South Asia. Pakistan and Russia have established effective cooperation in this [regional security] area, and we intend to continue working with our Russian friends to achieve our goals, peace and stability in Afghanistan," he said.
Bhutto Zardari recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif met in Samarkand last September, and the eighth meeting of the Pakistan-Russia intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation was held in Islamabad on January 18-20.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS