KARACHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th February, 2021) Pakistan looks forward to further strengthen the bilateral relations with Russia, including in the defense and economic sector, Minister of Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi told Sputnik on Monday.
"Bilateral relations with Russia have improved considerably over the years and we are keen to develop them further. There is a lot of potential of defense collaboration and we are looking forward to such collaboration," the minister said, replying to a Sputnik correspondent's question at the closing session of the 9th International Maritime Conference (IMC) 2021 in Karachi. He stressed that Islamabad was also looking at working with Russia on economic projects like North-South gas pipeline.
The minister also recalled his recent visit to Moscow and emphasized the importance of joint efforts in the Afghan peace process. Qureshi also underlined Russia's role in the global and regional stability and peace.
"I was in Moscow, I had very good meetings with the foreign minister [of Russia, Sergey Lavrov,] over there and we discussed a lot of issues. Russia is more than just an important global player, Russia is an important player in this region. Especially when we look at Afghanistan and the effort that we are all putting towards peace and reconciliation and its contribution is extremely important," the official concluded.
The IMC is organized by the National Institute of Maritime Affairs under the auspices of the Pakistan Navy and being held in tandem with the 7th Multinational Maritime Exercise AMAN-21, which is taking place near Karachi and involves naval forces from 45 countries, including Russia, China, NATO nations, as well as ASEAN and African Union member states.
