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Sincerest handshake award 2011
I am deeply moved - a true beginning for Pakistan and Trust-able Russia
Reference:http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=5963&Cat=13&dt=5/13/2011
MOSCOW: Pakistan and Russia Thursday agreed to promote trade, investment and pursue joint projects particularly in the fields of energy, infrastructure development, metal industry and agriculture.
In a joint communiqueÇ issued after the meeting of President Asif Ali Zardari and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Kremlin, both leaders agreed that enhanced cooperation would help develop a strong bilateral relationship based on mutual respect and interests.
President Zardari is on his first three-day official visit to Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart. Both presidents emphasised the importance they attached to promoting stability and peace in the broader region and, in this regard, to continue to enhance contacts, consultations, cooperation and coordination between the two countries.
The two sides welcomed the signing of the agreement between Pakistan and Russia on Air Transport as well as the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources of Pakistan and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation in energy cooperation and cooperation in the agriculture sector.
Earlier, President Zardari and President Medvedev held a one-on-one meeting followed by delegations-level talks. Both leaders discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest and concern. They emphasised the importance of developing mutually beneficial economic cooperation between the two countries, which is to be promoted by the Pakistani Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation that held its first meeting in Moscow in September 2010.
Discussing regional issues, the presidents underscored the importance of stability and peace in Afghanistan and reaffirmed their support for Afghan-led and Afghan-owned efforts towards promoting national reconciliation in Afghanistan. They expressed their deep concern about the threat of terrorism and drug-related crimes persisting in the region.
Both Pakistan and Russia underlined the importance of joint efforts to fight terrorism and narco-related crimes, which pose a serious challenge to international peace and stability. They also expressed concern about the chain of illegal production and distribution of drugs. The two sides welcomed the signing in October 2010 of the agreement between the Ministry of Narcotics Control of Pakistan and the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia on cooperation on combating illicit trafficking of drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors.
The presidents recognised the need for promoting trans-regional economic and trade cooperation. Regional development projects would ensure prosperity for the people of the region and it was important to optimally utilise national economic complementarities. They agreed to coordinate their efforts bilaterally as well as through regional multilateral cooperative mechanisms.
In this regard, the two sides expressed keen interest in the implementation of projects related to the creation of a system to transmit electric power from Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan (CASA-1000) and to the building of a gas pipeline between Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI).
President Zardari supported Russia’s offer to participate in the projects and underscored the need for their early realisation. The Russian side welcomed Pakistan’s involvement in the activities of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Russia’s support for Pakistan’s joining the SCO alongwith other candidates was reaffirmed subject to the consent of all its members.
Zardari and Medvedev reiterated the importance the two countries attach to the quadrilateral process (Russian Federation, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan) and reaffirmed their commitment to further interaction in this format in close cooperation with the SCO.
They commended the considerable progress made in the political and security dialogues between Pakistan and Russia, including at the top level. There has been a notable intensification of contacts on a wide range of topics between ministries and departments of two countries, the joint communique said.
They commended the Russian business community’s interest in participating together with the Pakistani government and businesses in a number of economics, infrastructure and banking projects.
The Russian side reaffirmed the willingness of Russian companies to cooperate with Pakistan. In particular, the state-owned enterprise Tyazhprome export is ready to take part in the modernisation of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in Karachi, while the INTER RAOUES would contribute to the building of energy generating facilities and Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz to the development of gas fields in Pakistan.
The two sides agreed to promote finance and banking sector cooperation and enhance bilateral trade and investment. In this context, they agreed to study the concept of currency change/barter agreements as well as offering incentives based on regime mechanism to promote their joint ventures.
Pakistan and Russia also agreed to promote cooperation in the field of education, including student and academic exchanges; science and technology; health sciences and marine sciences.
They also agreed to promote cultural and increase people-to-people and parliamentary contacts and exchanges. President Medvedev accepted President Zardari’s visit to Pakistan on mutually convenient dates.
At the delegation-level talks between the two leaders in Kremlin, President Zardari said, “It is time that we recognise the importance of each other and intensify our ties in diverse fields.” He said that the government, Parliament and people of Pakistan were keen to promote relations with Russia and start a new era of diplomatic and political relationship.
The President said it is high time to re-define relationship between Pakistan and Russia in the regional perspective.
“We recognise our importance in the regional context. We understand that the nations become prosperous by increasing their relations with their neighbours,” the president said. “We are very close neighbours. Although our borders don’t meet, our hearts do. There is great room for improving our relationship,” he said.
He emphasized the need to increase people to people contacts so that both nations could understand each other’s cultures to further promote their relations. He said, “We are here together for our coming generations to give them a bright future and the history will remember it.”
President Zardari thanked his Russian counterpart for extending him the invitation for the official visit and said this would bring the two countries closer.
President Medvedev said, “We have been meeting on a regular basis and this visit has provided the opportunity to both leaders to discuss various issues between Russia and Pakistan.” President Medvedev recognised the role played by Pakistan in the relentless efforts against terror.
He said terrorism is a global issue and both the countries are facing the menace of international terrorism. He said the threat must be fought collectively.
He said the success of talks lies in mutual and constant meetings. He said during his first official visit to Russia, President Zardari will get a clear understanding for boosting relations between the two countries.
At the delegation-level talks, the president was accompanied by Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar.
It is worth mentioning that in the last 37 years, President Zardari is the first Pakistani President, who is visiting Russia officially. Earlier, in 1974, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto paid an official visit to the then Soviet Union.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Zardari at the Kremlin: “We are interested in coordinating our efforts on the international arena. It is obvious that our countries are facing absolutely the same threat, I mean international terrorism.”
“We have to do everything so that we could jointly counter this main evil of the 21st century,” Medvedev said in comments released by the Kremlin.
Russia has for years been struggling to root out a Muslim insurgency in the North Caucasus following two wars with separatists in Chechnya after the fall of the Soviet Union. The Kremlin says Caucasus militants receive support from abroad.
Vedomosti business daily, citing a source close to the management of Russian Technologies, said on Wednesday that the two countries were expected to agree on a $540 million deal for Pakistan to upgrade the Soviet-built PSM.
A Kremlin spokesman could not say Thursday whether the loan was discussed during the talks. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Russia on Thursday signed four Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on energy cooperation, air space, promotion of investment and cooperation in agriculture sectors.
The MoU on air services was inked by Defence Minister Ch. Ahmed Mukhtar and Russian Transport Minister Igov Levttin.
The MoU on energy cooperation was signed by Adviser to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain and Russian Minister for Energy Sergei Shnatro.
The MoU on agriculture cooperation was signed by Russian Acting Minister for Agriculture Kovolev while Pakistan minister for agriculture and food was represented by Pakistan envoy in Moscow Mohammad Khalid Khattak, while the MoU on promotion of investment between the two countries was signed on Wednesday between the two countries by Chairman Board of Investment (BoI) Salim H Mandviwala and chairman Russian National Investment Agency.
President Zardari and his President Medvedev witnessed the signing ceremony. The MoU in energy fields would encourage development of Pakistan’s oil and gas fields, development of petroleum and natural gas storages in Pakistan, improvement of Pakistan’s natural gas infrastructure, project for using natural gas as a motor fuel. A Russian Company Stroytransgaz, as said in the joint communique, has expressed keen desire to build transnational gas pipeline projects of Pakistan from Turkmenistan, Iran or Qatar.
Similarly, Gazprom Geoservice Petroleum Company has agreed to construct oil and gas storage facilities and would also help in the training of Pakistani oil and gas experts and the experts of leading Russian companies have already visited Pakistan.
For promotion of agriculture in Pakistan, the main Russian automobile manufacturers are interested to invest in Pakistan and the MoU on agriculture sector would promote the agriculture sector of Pakistan.
For the promotion of investment in Pakistan, Lada is interested to manufacture cars of 1300 cc, Samara to manufacture cars of 800 cc, Nova group to manufacture 800 cc cars.
There is also a proposal by Russian companies Chelyabinsk and Traktorexport for manufacture of Russian tractors in Pakistan.
The Russian businessmen are keen to invest in Pakistan in telecommunication, banking, energy and infrastructure building.
Briefing the journalists about the meetings, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that the first meeting between the two heads of state originally, scheduled to last for 30 minutes, continued for over 90 minutes while the second meeting in which delegations of both countries participated continued over lunch for another 90 minutes.
In between the two meetings, one agreement and two memoranda of understanding were signed.
The first meeting between the two Presidents was also attended by Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar and Pakistan’s Ambassador in Moscow Khalid Khattak.
The second larger meeting at the delegation level was attended, besides them, also by Petroleum Adviser Dr Asim, Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood, Production Secretary Aziz Bilor and by him (Farhatullah Babar).
He said that discussions, both in the limited group and at the larger delegation level, were comprehensive, covering various aspects of bilateral relations and regional situation and were marked by a mutual desire to further broaden and expand the relations between the two countries.
President Medvedev echoed President Zardari’s call for greater contacts at the level of businessmen and the two leaders agreed to institutionalise political contacts at higher level.
President Zardari invited the Russian president to visit Pakistan which the latter readily accepted and tasked Foreign Office to work out a mutually convenient date for the visit to take place this year.
Farhatullah Babar said that President Zardari emphasised currency swap agreements and the opening of branches of a Russian bank in Pakistan and of a Pakistani bank in Russia.
