75th anniversary of Pakistan-Russia ties

Islamabad: Director General, Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) Sohail Mahmood has said that the relationship between Pakistan and Russian Federation was currently marked with friendship, increased mutual understanding and growing cooperation across myriad domains.

Mr Mahmood was speaking as chair at a roundtable on ‘Commemorating 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Russia’ organised here by ISS. Danila Ganich, ambassador of the Russian Federation, was the chief guest.

Noting convergent interests across a range of regional and international issues, the ISS DG observed that the desire for enhanced cooperation was driven by Pakistan’s deepening engagement with the Eurasian region and the imperatives of geo-economics.

He outlined different phases of the Pakistan-Russia relations over the past 75 years including in the Cold War era, the post-Cold War years, and the current phase.

During the interactive session, the deliberations focused on multiple dimensions of Pakistan-Russia relations, which, the participants noted, were marked by cooperation in diverse fields, including energy, security, agriculture, and people-to-people contacts.

In the regional context, developments with regard to Afghanistan, South Asia, Central Asia and regional connectivity were discussed.