Pak Russia trade volume can go up: Dastgir

MOSCOW: Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan has said that the there is a great potential between Pakistan and Russia for the enhancement in trade.

He was talking to the Minister for Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Denanturov here on the sidelines of the 7th Moscow Conference on International Security. Ambassador of Pakistan to Russia Khalil Ullah Qazi was also present in the meeting.

Defence Minister Dastagir underscored that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Russia. He noted that bilateral relations have improved substantively since 2013 under the shared vision of the highest political leadership of both nations. He also noted that bilateral trade was growing, and had great potential to rise further.

Denis Manturov observed that IGC provided a good platform for periodic high-level meetings and underlined that further deepening of cooperation between Russia and Pakistan would be helpful in promoting peace and stability in the region.

The two Ministers noted the progress made on the execution of decisions taken during the 5th Meeting of Pakistan-Russia IGC held in Moscow in November 2017 and agreed to further enhance cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, defence, science and technology, agriculture, education, health and information technology.

Both sides reiterated their commitment to implementing the Inter-Governmental Agreement on North-South Gas Pipeline Project signed in Islamabad in October 2015. Denis Manturov assured Khurram Dastgir Khan that a Russian delegation would visit Pakistan in the near future to expedite implementation of the project.

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