Pakistan, Russia agree to transform ties into substantive economic partnership

ASTANA: Pakistan and Russia have expressed their desire to transform the current cordial political relations into a long-term partnership in diverse fields.  

The resolve was expressed during meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sideline of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Astana.

The two leaders reaffirmed their desire to further enhance bilateral relations.

They took a comprehensive review of bilateral relations and agreed that there is a healthy growth in relations between the two countries.

Both sides noted that high-level interactions and cordial political relations between the two countries have set the stage for translating political goodwill into a substantive economic partnership.

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They also agreed to work on concrete proposals for the next session of Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific, and technical cooperation which will take place in Moscow in December this year.

It was also agreed to fast-track the implementation of North-South Gas Pipeline, the agreement which was signed in October 2015 between the two sides.

The two sides also reviewed defence relations during recent years.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has now reached Lahore, after concluding his two-day official visit to Kazakhstan.