Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Tuesday met President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin wherein the two leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation with a special focus on trade, investment and energy.
Both leaders expressed their contentment with the steady growth of Pakistan-Russia relations and emphasized the need for broader collaboration across various sectors. President Putin warmly welcomed Prime Minister Kakar and their meeting encompassed discussions on bilateral, regional, and international affairs.
The leaders also explored opportunities to enhance Eurasian connectivity, acknowledging Pakistan's crucial role in regional integration through the development of rail, road, and energy corridors.
Prime Minister Kakar stressed the importance of fostering regional integration to drive economic development across the entire region. He reaffirmed Pakistan's unwavering commitment to expand and strengthen cooperation with Russia in trade, investment, energy, connectivity, and counterterrorism.
Furthermore, the leaders engaged in dialogues on current regional and global developments, including the evolving situation in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Kakar highlighted the convergence of interests between Pakistan and Russia concerning the issue of terrorism. He called for enhanced cooperation and a collective approach among Afghanistan's neighboring countries. Stressing the pivotal role of neighboring nations, he urged intelligence sharing, defense collaboration, and concerted counter-terrorism efforts.
Turning to the matter of energy cooperation, Prime Minister Kakar emphasized that Pakistan, with a population of 240 million, faced energy challenges. He mentioned the recent participation of Pakistan's energy minister in an Energy Week event in Russia, where fruitful discussions were held with the Russian team. Concrete proposals for bolstering energy cooperation were presented during these talks.
Prime Minister Kakar also recalled his prior visit to Russia as a senator, expressing his fascination with Russian architecture and its representation of Christianity and churches. He underscored the cultural and ethical values shared between the two nations, extending beyond their region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his remarks, highlighted the celebration of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Russia. He emphasized the considerable potential for collaboration between the two countries, with trade relations witnessing significant growth. Notably, Russia had supplied approximately one million tons of cereals to Pakistan during the year.
On the other hand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have called for establishing a viable and contiguous Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al Sharif as its capital.
The understanding to this effect came at a meeting between Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and President Ranil Wickremesinghe today on the sidelines of 3rd Belt and Road Forum.
During the meeting, the two leaders expressed deep concern over the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza caused by the ongoing Israeli attacks. They further urged for establishing a humanitarian corridor to provide aid to the besieged people of Gaza.
The Prime Minister emphasized the need to work together to fight poverty and promote economic growth and development for benefit of the entire region. He also expressed his desire to promote peace and enhance connectivity through regional cooperation.
Both leaders agreed to remain in contact to exchange experiences and best practices in areas such as privatization of State-Owned Enterprises.
In his remarks, the President of Sri Lanka thanked the Prime Minister for conveying warm sentiments on behalf of the government and the people of Pakistan. The leaders agreed to further strengthen bilateral ties and continue the long-standing cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
