Pakistan, Russia cover a lot of ground

Pakistan and the Russian Federation Thursday agreed to forge a long-term and multidimensional partnership between the two countries. It was agreed during a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev. Both the leaders expressed satisfaction at the positive trajectory of bilateral relations and agreed to further deepen cooperation in all fields of mutual interest.
Prime Minister Abbasi said that Pakistan attached priority to its relations with the Russian Federation. The two prime ministers expressed satisfaction at the progress made at the 5th Meeting of Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) held in Moscow from November 28-30, 2017. They expressed confidence that the discussions held between the delegations of the two sides at the IGC would lead to further deepening of cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, education, industry, science and technology and transport.
Prime Minister Abbasi highlighted the potential for further cooperation between Pakistan and Russia in the field of energy.
Both the leaders also exchanged views on the regional situation. The prime minister informed his Russian counterpart about the prevailing situation in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan's efforts to resolve all outstanding issues with India peacefully and through dialogue. The two prime ministers agreed on the need to continue efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
Both the leaders underlined the importance of cooperating closely for promoting peace and stability in the region. They expressed satisfaction at the deepening of cooperation in the field of defense. Prime Minister Abbasi extended invitation to Prime Minister of Russia to pay an official visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience which was accepted. He also conveyed greetings from the people of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang Thursday expressed satisfaction over the overall level of engagement between the two countries. They agreed to continue close cooperation both within Shanghai Cooperation Organization and at the bilateral level in all areas particularly political, economic and trade, defense and strategic and multilateral and United Nations matters.
The two leaders acknowledged that Pakistan-China partnership was an anchor of strength for regional and global peace and stability. They underscored continued support to each other on all issues of mutual interest.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abassi who arrived here to participate in the Council of Heads of Government of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, he also appreciated the active work being undertaken by the SCO under the Chinese current chairmanship and assured Pakistan's complete support in fulfilling the targets set forth by China in political, security, economic and cultural realms during its presidency.
Prime minister Abbasi congratulated Chinese premier on the success of 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China and his reelection on the Political Bureau as well as of President Xi Jinping as Party General Secretary. He reaffirmed Pakistan's traditional strong support to China on its core issues, including 'One China Policy'. The Chinese premier reiterated full commitment to the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.
He said Pakistan's membership of SCO would further contribute to the regional peace, security, stability and development. Premier Li expressed happiness over the finalization of long-term plan of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor during the recently held 7th meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee in Islamabad.