The relationship with Russia remains a key priority for Pakistan's foreign policy, Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2020) The relationship with Russia remains a key priority for Pakistan's foreign policy, Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan told Sputnik in an interview.
Khan was appointed ambassador to Russia in March 2020. Prior to that, he headed Pakistan's diplomatic mission to Poland.
"It's self-evident from our policies and our statements that for Pakistan Russia remains a key priority in our foreign policy, and we take great pleasure and we are very glad that in the past two decades the two countries' bilateral relations have made enormous progress. We have made this really tremendous progress. A lot of credit goes of course to the Russian side and particularly President [Vladimir] Putin, his personal interest in this bilateral relationship," Khan said.
The Pakistani diplomat noted that that the two countries had "all-encompassing dialogue" at various levels.
"The relationship is not unidirectional or unidimensional, it's multi-dimensional, and that is what we want to achieve to strengthen this relationship ... This relationship, of course, serves the national interests of both countries, Pakistan and the Russian Federation, but it also contributes to regional stability and it also contributes to global stability," Khan said.
The Pakistani diplomat asserted that Russia remained "a pillar of global stability" amid a quickly changing global situation.
"We admire Russia's policies in terms of the way it is contributing to global stability and, similarly, [stability] in our region, which remains very volatile. We look to Russia to continue to play a stabilizing role," Khan said.
The ambassador also expressed determination to continue work on improving people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and Russia, including through parliamentary exchanges and student programs.
