Pakistan wants stronger ties with Russia, says Foreign Office

Tasnim Aslam says Islamabad is seeking Moscow’s cooperation in defence, energy

Pakistan considers the ongoing dialogue with Russia as productive and intends to develop ties in different spheres including defence and energy, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said on Friday.

“Russia and Pakistan are trying to enhance and develop relations in many areas; Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Ishaq Dar recently visited Moscow where a meeting of the inter-governmental working group for energy issues took place. It was very useful,”Tasnim told the Russian news agency Tass.

She added: “We received Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu in Pakistan last year. Fruitful discussions were held and a set of measures agreed to strengthen defence cooperation. Now the time has come to materialise them in real life.”



When asked if Pakistan planned to buy military hardware from Russia, Tasnim said that opportunities to expand and strengthen the existing ties always appeared as relations continue to develop. “This is equally true of the purchases of military equipment and Russian investments in Pakistan, and the development of infrastructure in our country by Russian companies.”

She cited the construction of Pakistan Steel Mills with the help of the Soviet Union in the 1970s as an example of reciprocal cooperation and said that they would want the relations to grow further and develop in more than one sphere.

“We want Russia to participate in the implementation of infrastructure projects; the construction of dams, as well as in energy projects. We maintain contacts with many companies, including Gazprom,” the spokesperson said.

Aslam said US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent visit to Islamabad on January 13 was Pakistan’s attempt to build bilateral relations with partners in a way that would not harm the interests of other states.

“We believe that countries develop bilateral relations on a mutually beneficial basis. This kind of ties can also have a positive impact on the region and the international situation. Not a single country can have ‘a right of veto’ on development of bilateral relations by other countries. Our aim is to develop independent contacts with all countries. We consider the foreign policy to be a ‘zero sum game’. Pakistan’s relations with the United States can in no way harm Pakistan’s relations with Russia and vice versa,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th,  2015.