Pakistan, Russia giving new dimension to relations
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Zahid Chaudhary
Islamabad
Recent frequent exchanges between Pakistan and Russia and that at high levels clearly indicate that both the countries are on path of solidifying their relations both in economic and defence fields.
The 12th meeting of the Pakistan-Russia Consultative Group on Strategic Stability was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday in which both the sides held an in-depth exchange on regional and global developments, including arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation of arms.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, Ambassador Tasnim Aslam, Special Secretary United Nations and Economic Coordination led the Pakistan side, while the Russian delegation was led by Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation.
The talks were marked by a commonality of approach and convergence on a range of contemporary issues, the statement added.
Both sides agreed on the need to further capitalise on the bilateral relations by exploring mutually beneficial avenues for bilateral cooperation.
It merits mentioning here that Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also recently visited Moscow and held wide ranging talks with his Russian counterpart in which both sides agreed to setting up of a commission for promoting military cooperation while expressing alarm over growing footprint of the militant Islamic State (IS) group in Afghanistan and the indifference of US-led Nato forces present in the conflict-ridden country to the problem. “We are forming a military cooperation commission in line with our inter-governmental agreement in this area,” the Russian foreign minister had stated as he expressed Moscow’s readiness to strengthen Pakistan’s counterterrorism capabilities.
Pakistan and Russia in Nov 2014 signed a defence cooperation agreement and subsequently the two sides in Oct 2015 inked military-technical cooperation accord providing for arms supplies and cooperation in weapon development. Russia has provided four Mi-35M combat and cargo helicopters to Pakistan and the militaries of the two countries also held joint drills codenamed ‘Friendship’.