New Delhi: To commemorate 75 years of bilateral relations with Pakistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued a video message Monday where he described the ties as “advanced and based on trust”.
This comes a day after Pakistan received 10 containers of LPG gas from Russia via Afghanistan, as well as its first cargo of discounted Russian crude over the weekend since the start of the Ukraine war.
“Together with our Pakistani partners, we stand for shaping a more just and democratic multipolar world order,” Lavrov said.
He concluded the message with a line in Urdu: “Pakistan-Roosi dosti zindabad!”
Moscow’s top diplomat also indicated that negotiations between the two countries on cooperation in the oil sector are in the final stage.
This comes two days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while commenting on a cargo of discounted Russian oil arriving in Karachi, said this was the start of a “new relationship” between Pakistan and Russia.
In his video message, Lavrov also praised Islamabad’s cooperation with Moscow in international fora, such as the United Nations (UN) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
“We highly appreciate Pakistan’s contribution to the activities of the United Nations and its specialised agencies. We welcome Islamabad’s active involvement in joint work within the SCO…which plays an important role in establishing multilateral cooperation in Greater Eurasia,” he said.
In a separate video message, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari described bilateral meetings with Lavrov in January during his maiden visit to Moscow and in May during the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in India as a “testament” to the priority his country places on its relations with Moscow.
Bhutto-Zardari’s attendance at the SCO meet in Goa was the first time a Pakistani foreign minister stepped on Indian soil since 2011.
‘Russia’s vision of world order in line with Jinnah’s values’
Pakistan and the Soviet Union (predecessor of the Russian Federation) first established bilateral relations on 1 May 1948.
During his video address, Lavrov noted the participation of Soviet specialists in the construction of the largest steel mill in Karachi (now called Pakistan Steel Mills) in the 1980s, as well as the Guddu Thermal Power Plant, then the largest in Pakistan.
He also made a reference to the founder father of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
“I would like to note that Russia’s vision of the world order and our understanding of traditional moral values is in harmony with the principles of faith, unity and discipline formulated by the Father of the Pakistani people Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” Lavrov said.
Pakistan is a key international partner to Russia when it comes to combating trans-border crime and terrorism, he added.
Bhutto-Zardari, in his video message, also mentioned that the two countries share a range of issues of common interest like “regional peace and stability” as well as “economic and energy cooperation”.
Message of felicitation by FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to the government and people of the Russian Federation on 75th anniversary of establishment of bilateral relations between #Pakistan and #Russia.
Pakistan-Russia dosti Zindabaad.
🇵🇰🤝🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/nyfs95Kd7F
— Pakistan Embassy Russia (@PakinRussia) June 12, 2023
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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