Russian Ambassador For Pakistan, Albert P. Khorev has Written a column on Newspaper “The Nations”, In which he said, The Relations between Russia and Pakistan are based on long-standing friendship and trust. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently noted, our bilateral cooperation is on an upward trajectory and is at its highest point in decades. There is mutual interest in cooperation and great potential for its development.
He said, Our ties were further strengthened by a series of visits of senior Russian officials to Islamabad, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and Chairperson of the Federation Council (Senate) Valentina Matvienko. At the same time, Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Minister for Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan, Minister of Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik and Minister of Power Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari visited Moscow last year.
Economic relations between Russia and Pakistan have already made considerable progress in recent years: trade turnover has grown by 50% in the last 5 years. Our common task is to maintain this positive dynamic. The development of trade relations is facilitated by the opening of the St. Petersburg-Karachi sea route, the First Russia-Pakistan Trade and Investment Forum (October 1-2, 2024) and the 9th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission (December 2-4, 2024).
Ambassador Said, We are also developing connectivity through road transport. Last year, for example, an agreement between our governments on international road transport came into force, followed by the first trial transport of cargo by road.
Russia is also making an important contribution to the food security of Pakistan. We export food and agricultural products, and we expect grain supplies to resume. In addition, we are positive about the growth of exports of Russian mineral fertilizers to Pakistan this year. Leading Russian companies are ready to offer modern models of agricultural machinery to their Pakistani partners.
Russia-Pakistan relations also have great prospects in the energy and pharmaceutical sectors. Russian companies are exploring opportunities to take part in projects for the construction and reconstruction of thermal and hydroelectric power plants in Pakistan.
In the field of digital technologies, Russia is ready to share its best practices in information security, smart cities, e-government and the Internet of Things. Leading Russian companies are ready to offer Pakistani citizens more than 80 educational courses and programs aimed at developing digital and cognitive skills. The training is available in both face-to-face and online formats. We attach equally great importance to developing educational and cultural ties between our two countries. The number of scholarships for Pakistani students was increased by 11% in the last academic year. The most popular fields of study in 2024 were medicine, construction, engineering and economics.
He also written in the column that are making efforts to intensify the work of Russian-language Open Education Centers and Russian language teaching in Islamabad and Karachi. In this regard, we welcome the launch of the international humanitarian project “Russian Teacher Abroad” and Russian language courses at the Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad in the near future.
Albert P. Khorev said, We regularly discuss the easing of the visa regime for Pakistani citizens: a dialogue to this effect is being held at the level of relevant departments on both sides.
The lack of agreements between our countries on readmission and mutual recognition of higher education diplomas currently hinders the full realization of our cooperation potential. The relevant documents have been under consideration by the Pakistani side for a long time and we hope that a positive decision will be taken in the near future.
The signing of these documents would greatly promote people-to-people contacts, tourism and educational cooperation.
