The Institute of Strategic Islamabad (ISSI) organised a public talk on “Pakistan–Russian Relations” under its Ambassador’s Platform series, on March 17, 2016. The distinguished speaker on the occasion was, H.E. Mr. Alexey Yurievich Dedov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Pakistan.
In his welcoming remarks, the Director General (DG) of ISSI, Ambassador Masood Khan said that it was his distinct pleasure to welcome H.E. Mr Alexey Yurievich Dedov to the Ambassadors Platform. Ambassador Khan said that as we all know Pakistan and Russia, formerly the Soviet Union, have had a very troubled history, but there was always a desire between the two countries to come close to each other. In this regard, many attempts were made and many initiatives were taken by the Russian and Pakistani leadership. The current phase between the two countries is very promising and very encouraging because we have made a new beginning. Ambassador Khan also added that there have been frequent high-level visits over the past three to four years, and there is very intense interaction between the two-sides compared to the past. The two countries have now started cooperation in areas such as energy, defence, finance and trade; and also there has been exchange of visits between the parliamentarian; and leaders of both countries recently met on the side-lines of the Ufa Summit. The important thing to note is that an architecture of cooperation has now been put in place. There is on-going strategic dialogue between the two countries, both are also working on counter-terrorism matters, there is an inter-governmental commission between the two countries, and there is also a joint working group on energy. There is right now maximum potential for military cooperation, but energy and trade relations are also equally important.
