Shanghai moot: Putin assures Moscow’s anti-terror cooperation

Russian PM also shows interest in boosting economic ties with Islamabad during meeting with Gilani.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday assured his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani of Moscow’s full support to Islamabad in combating terrorism.

“Without any conditions, here we are your allies in the full sense of the word,” Putin was quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency as telling Gilani during a meeting in Dushanbe.

Putin and Gilani were meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in the Tajik capital.

Along with India, Iran and Mongolia, Pakistan has an observer status in the Russia-China-led Central Asian group and is lobbying for full membership.

Gilani on his part assured Putin that Islamabad will spare no efforts in war on terror and extremism.

He underscored that Pakistan itself was suffering heavy casualties in this combat.

During the meeting, Putin also noted Moscow’s interest in developing economic cooperation with Islamabad and  the willingness of the Russian companies in investing in the South Asian nation.

Meanwhile, Gilani also held bilateral meetings with Tajik, Chinese and Kazakh leaders before he headed back to Pakistan.

Gilani was seen off at the Dushanbe airport by his Tajik counterpart Okil Okilov and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Mardon. In his brief interaction with the Tajik and Pakistani media, the PM said that the SCO is a useful forum for all regional countries to strengthen their trade and economic cooperation.

Earlier, while speaking at the HGC meeting, Gilani reiterated Pakistan’s sincere desire to actively participate in the economic development of the region under the SCO. He said that Pakistan’s status in the SCO should immediately be elevated to that of a full member.

“We are keen to participate actively in promoting the SCO’s economic agenda and development remains high on Pakistan’s priorities. We look forward to becoming a full member of the SCO,” Gilani said.

The meeting was attended by both the president and the prime minister of host Tajikistan; the HGC meeting was attended by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov and representatives of other member states as well as observers. The prime minister said that the stability and prosperity of the SCO region is critical to global security, as the region holds great promise for ensuring sustained global economic growth. “The ongoing processes of profound transformation in the global strategic and economic landscape impact directly on the future well-being of the people of our region. It is essential that these processes are tailored to suit our needs and are in accordance with our aspirations for peace and development,” he said.

Prime Minister Gilani said that Pakistan believes that the SCO can play an important role in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan. “We wish [Afghan] President Karzai every success in his historic endeavours to overcome the challenges that Afghanistan and our region face,” he said, while ensuring SCO member countries that Pakistan will always be by their side in their quest to ensure a better future for the people of the region.(Additional input from APP)

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2010.