Русский
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has been attending the annual Heads of State Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China, and has had the opportunity to discuss bilateral relations with other SCO members, such as with Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif. This is what they had to say:
Putin: “Last time we met was a year ago on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Astana. Notably, Pakistan remains our traditional partner in Asia. We value our relations. I would like to point out that during our previous meeting, we agreed to step up our relations, and indeed, some progress has been made. Unfortunately, due to a number of objective circumstances, our trade is down albeit by a very small margin. Nevertheless, this is a telling sign for us to address this matter and to work on it.
Regrettably, Pakistan continues to face natural disasters. We worked together, sat at the same table during the SCO session, and you told us about them. We very much hope that under your leadership your country will overcome these difficulties and challenges. We extend our deepest condolences to the people of Pakistan in connection with the devastating floods. You recently told me about them.
Meanwhile, we continue to cooperate through inter-parliamentary channels. Interaction is going on uninterrupted. We cooperate on international platforms. Pakistan is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, and we are also working day in and day out on this most important platform.
Russia has SCO events at the level of heads of government planned for November. We will be delighted to see you in Moscow, if your schedule allows for a visit.”
Sharif: “We are meeting for the first time after our meeting last July, and I can say with a sense of confidence that together we have been making very serious and sincere efforts to promote our bilateral relations, particularly in the field of trade.
Last year, our trade had a spike. We imported oil from Russia, and that led to an increase in our bilateral trade.
Our relations have been on the rise in the past years, we are also very keen to strengthen our bilateral relations – I think we are moving in the right direction. There has been flurry of visits of delegations between the two countries. Your honourable deputy prime minister went to Islamabad; Russian delegations visited Pakistan; and our delegations visited last year. Recently we signed protocols in terms of how to promote our cooperation in agriculture, iron and steel, energy, transport, and Middle corridor starting from Belarus, then transiting Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. This is a very important corridor.
I think that all this put together reflects, beyond any way of doubt, a very keen commitment to build our relations. Thank you very much for your invitation to visit your great country. I will be very happy to be there.
I would like to also thank you for supporting Pakistan and trying to have a balancing act in the region. I know and I must say that we respect your relationship with India – that is perfectly fine – but we also want to build very strong relations, and these relations will be supplementary and complimentary for the good, and for the progress and prosperity of the region. I find you a very dynamic leader, and I want to assure you but like to work with you very closely.”
Summary
Bilateral trade between Russia and Pakistan has been growing reached US$1.3 billion in 2024, with agricultural trade dominating. Russian and Pakistan also engaging in direct barter for products such as oranges (Pakistan) and legumes (Russia). Russia has also shown interest in Pakistan’s oil industry sector.
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