Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met with his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) ministers council to discuss issues of regional and international significance, the Russian foreign ministry said on Wednesday
DUSHANBE/MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2021) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met with his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) ministers council to discuss issues of regional and international significance, the Russian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
The two-day meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council started in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe on Tuesday. Among other things, the agenda includes the latest developments in Afghanistan in light of foreign troops' withdrawal and the offensive of the Taliban (banned in Russia) in the country's north.
"The Russian foreign minister held a meeting with the Pakistani foreign minister on July 14 on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council in Dushanbe. During the conversation, [the ministers] discussed topical issues of the regional and international agendas, with an emphasis on the situation in Afghanistan," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministers stressed the need to further build up multidimensional bilateral cooperation, including in such areas as counter-terrorism and trade, the statement read.
Opening the meeting, Lavrov said it was "a great opportunity to adjust positions" for Moscow and Islamabad. The minister said the meeting will build on the things discussed during his visit to Pakistan in April, which was focused on the Afghan peace process and COVID-19 vaccines.
