On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, Minister of Transport Andrei Nikitin, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Minister of Energy and Co-Chair of the Russian-Pakistani Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation Sergei Tsivilev, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, and Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, colleagues. It is a genuine pleasure to see you.
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Last time we met was a year ago on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Astana.
Notably, Pakistan remains our traditional partner in Asia. We value our relations. I would like to point out that during our previous meeting, we agreed to step up our relations, and indeed, some progress has been made.
However, unfortunately, due to a number of objective circumstances, our trade is down albeit by a very small margin. Nevertheless, this is a telling sign for us to address this matter and to work on it.
Unfortunately, Pakistan continues to face natural disasters. We worked together, sat at the same table during the SCO session, and you told us about them. We very much hope that under your leadership your country will overcome these difficulties and challenges.
We extend our deepest condolences to the people of Pakistan in connection with the devastating floods. You recently told me about them.
We continue to cooperate through inter-parliamentary channels. Interaction is going on uninterrupted. We cooperate on international platforms. Pakistan is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, and we are also working day in and day out on this most important platform.
Mr Prime Minister, Russia has SCO events at the level of heads of government planned for November. We will be delighted to see you in Moscow, if your schedule allows for a visit.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif: Thank you very much, Your Excellency President Vladimir Putin, for sparing your precious time for this meeting. We are meeting, as you said rightly, after [our meeting in] Astana last July, and I can say with a sense of confidence that together we have been making very serious and sincere efforts to promote our bilateral relations, particularly in the field of trade.
Last year, our trade had a spike. We imported oil from Russia, and that led to an increase in our bilateral trade.
Our relations have been on the rise in the past years, but due to your personal commitment and interest – and I must say that I am also very keen to strengthen our bilateral relations – I think we are moving in the right direction. After our meeting in Astana, there has been flurry of visits of delegations between the two countries. Your honourable deputy prime minister went to Islamabad; Russian delegations visited Pakistan; and our delegations visited last year. Recently we signed protocols in terms of how to promote our cooperation in the field of agriculture, in the field of iron and steel, energy, transport, and the corridor from Belarus, and then Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. I think this is a very important corridor.
Your Excellency, I think that all this put together reflects, beyond any way of doubt, a very keen commitment on your part and our part to build our relations. Thank you very much for your invitation to visit your great country. I will be very happy to be there, because I have not been in your country for ages. So, I must go to Moscow and refresh my good memories of my younger days.
Your Excellency, I would like to also thank you for supporting Pakistan and trying to have a balancing act in the region. I know and I must say that we respect your relationship with India – that is perfectly fine – but we also want to build very strong relations, and these relations will be supplementary and complimentary for the good, and for the progress and prosperity of the region. I find in you a very dynamic leader, and I want to assure you but like to work with you very closely.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
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