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Pak expresses keenness to enhance ties with Russia

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Press Trust of India Islamabad
Last Updated : Jul 10 2015 | 11:28 PM IST
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today said his country is keen to enhance its relations with Russia and wants a multi-dimensional relationship with it in key sectors like trade, defence and energy.
Sharif told this to Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met for the first time on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Ufa.
According to an official statement, Sharif told Putin that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Russian Federation.
"He informed President Putin that Pakistan is keen to enhance its relations with the Russian Federation and wants a multi-dimensional relationship with Russia in the fields of trade, defence, energy, infrastructure, culture and other spheres," the statement said.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan appreciates Russia's support to join the SCO as a full member.
The two sides expressed confidence that the meeting would help in raising the level of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

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President Putin congratulated the Prime Minister on the launching of formal accession of Pakistan to SCO.
He stated that Russia attaches importance to its relations with Pakistan and would like to further enhance them, particularly in the economic domain.
Both leaders reviewed the progress in a number of projects under consideration especially in the energy sector and expressed satisfaction on the progress being made in finalising North-South gas pipeline agreement and decided to expedite the process.
According to officials the proposed USD 2 billion pipeline will be built by Russia from Karachi to Lahore.
Once Cold War-era adversaries, relations between the two countries are improving after 40-years of hostility during which Pakistan was in the anti-Soviet Union camp and had been instrumental in the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan in 1980s.
Pakistan and Russia last year also signed a military cooperation agreement to deepen their defence ties and vowed to translate their relationship in "tangible" terms during the first-ever visit of a Russian defence minister in 45 years.
Russian Defence Minister Shoigu's visit last November to Pakistan came at a very critical juncture as US-led NATO forces drawdown from Afghanistan.
Russia lifted embargoes on providing defence supplies to Pakistan and currently the two sides are working on different options to increase the ties in the defence field.

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First Published: Jul 10 2015 | 11:28 PM IST

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