ISLAMABAD: Russian President Vladimir Putin described Pakistan as an “important partner in South Asia and the Islamic world” in a message to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, said an official statement circulated in Islamabad after a visiting delegation from Moscow met the Pakistani premier in Lahore.
Led by Russian energy minister Nikolay Shulginov, the 80-member delegation arrived in Pakistan’s federal capital earlier this week to discuss a range of issues, including an oil and gas deal on discounted rates, during high-level consultations between the two sides.
The prime minister welcomed the Russian official and said that Pakistan attributed tremendous significance to its relations with the Russian Federation.
“The Russian Energy Minister reciprocated Prime Minister’s sentiments and delivered a special message of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Prime Minister,” said the statement issued by the PM Office. “In his message, President Putin referring to Pakistan as Russia’s important partner in South Asia and the Islamic World reiterated Russia’s strong interest to deepen the bilateral relationship.”
Sharif met the Russian president in September last year on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand. During their conversation, the two leaders decided to broaden and deepen the bilateral ties by focusing on energy supplies along with enhance trade and investment.
Pakistan’s energy procurements from international markets constitute the largest portion of its import bill, putting immense pressure on the rapidly depleting forex reserves with its central bank that have plummeted to $4.6 billion.
Officials in Islamabad hope to save a significant amount while meeting the country’s burgeoning energy needs by securing a favorable procurement deal for oil and gas from Moscow.
“Both sides agreed on the importance of energy sector for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations,” the official statement said after Thursday’s meeting. “In this regard, views were exchanged on supplying oil and gas from Russia to Pakistan on a long-term basis. Matters related to gas pipelines were also reviewed.”
Pakistan and Russia agreed to build a 1,100-kilometer pipeline in 2015 to deliver imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Karachi on the Arabian Sea coast to power plants in the northeastern province of Punjab.
The prime minister also shared his vision for the eighth round of Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission meeting is taking place in Islamabad on Friday.
