Pakistan, Russia to exchange delegations for strengthening ties: Prime Minister

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said Thursday that with good progress in relationship between Pakistan and Russian Federation over the years, there is consensus in Pakistan that our relations with Russian Federation should be further strengthened. Russia is very important because of its linkages with Europe and Asia, he added.
The Prime Minister was talking to Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, who along with his delegation called on him here at the PM House and discussed matters of bilateral interest. Prime Minister Ashraf said that he was happy to note that both the Pakistani and Russian Foreign Ministers have had good discussion during their meeting on Thursday.
Referring to a recent visit of high powered Russian delegation which signed a number of Memoranda of Understandings with Pakistan on energy, railway and steel sectors, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan Steel Mills, a symbol of the friendship of Pakistan and Russia in the 20th century, will now serve as a bridge to further intensify relations between the two countries in the 21st century.
He said that Pakistan and Russia have convergence on many regional and international issues including Afghanistan, Syria and the Security Council as well as the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO). Prime Minister Ashraf said that Pakistan seeks to increase economic relations and benefit from the expertise of Russian Federation, especially in the energy sector where Russia has experience in coal mining and generation of coal power plants.
Similarly, Pakistan seeks Russian Federation's co-operation in expansion of Pakistan Steel Mills which is important to this government because former Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had initiated the project, he added. The Prime Minister expressed the hope that progress will also be made for co-operation between the two countries for improvement of Railways in Pakistan.
He assured the Russian Foreign Minister that his government would extend all possible assistance to the Russian Federation in securing contracts in Pakistan and their execution. The Prime Minister expressed the hope that both the countries would exchange Parliamentary, business and cultural delegations to further strengthen the relations. In this connection he referred to the visit of SpeakerNational Assembly Ms Fehmida Mirza to Russia early next year. The Russian Foreign Minister conveyed the best wishes of President Vladimir Putin for President Asif Ali Zardari. The Russian Foreign Minister said that the inter-governmental commission between the two countries has been working to promote economic co-operation between the two countries.-PR