President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President, I am happy for this opportunity to make your acquaintance, to meet with you, and to welcome you to the Russian Federation. I expect that today, we will turn a new page in the dialogue between Russia and Pakistan. Just now, during an informal dinner between participants in the SCO summit, you said something that was profound and memorable to everyone present. You were talking about dramatic events in the history of Pakistan, your entry into politics, and the great difficulties that you face as Pakistan’s leader.
I would like to wish you success in your work as president; I hope that all of us will be successful in combating such evil acts as terrorism and crime. I know that if we do not join efforts in fighting this horrible form of modern crime, we will never be able to win.
Recently, another terrible terrorist attack took place in Peshawar. We would like to express our condolences and state our readiness for a multifaceted anti-terrorist cooperation.
Naturally, we would also like to develop sound bilateral economic and cultural relations with Pakistan, because we feel this is important in order for the overall situation in our region to become less volatile and more stable. In my view, this will help in implementing the ideas you talked about today, and in maintaining Pakistan as a strong, unified nation.
Once again, Mr President, welcome to Russia.
President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari (as translated into Russian): Thank you, Your Excellency. Indeed, it a great pleasure and a great honour for me to visit your great nation. It is true that over the last 20 years, the world around us has changed significantly. The lesson we have learned from this is that we are all interdependent; all nations and all peoples are truly dependent on one another. Thus, we must be responsible in our actions toward our neighbours, to ensure that we do not harm one another and to achieve accord and harmony in our relations.
We – Pakistan and Russia – are neighbours. We are not only extended neighbours in the region, but we also have a long historic tradition of bilateral relations. We have learned a great deal from one another, and we can do a great deal today to adjust our relations so that any problem faced by one of us is shared by the other. Russia’s main concerns should be of concern to Pakistan as well, and important issues for Pakistan should also be important to Russia. Thus, our cooperation will not only improve the situation in our region, but throughout the world as well.
I fully support and welcome the suggestion you made in your opening address. Today, we have a real opportunity to turn a new page and to open a new chapter in the relations between our two great countries.
Once again, thank you for your invitation.
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