Russian defense minister welcomes Pakistan’s intention to expand ties with Russia

MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. Russia welcomes the urge of Pakistan’s leadership to expand ties with the Russian Federation, including in the defense sphere, Russian Defense Minister, General of the Army Sergey Shoigu said Wednesday while opening talks with his Pakistani counterpart Khawaja Mohammad Asif. Asif arrived in Russia to attend the IV Moscow Conference on International Security, due to be held in the Russian capital on April 16-17. "Development of constructive relations between our countries is an important factor of ensuring international security and regional stability. We hope for interaction in the fight against terrorism and growing drug trafficking from Afghanistan," Shoigu said. He expressed gratitude to his Pakistani counterpart for "taking part for the second time in the Moscow Conference on International Security." The minister highly assessed prospects of cooperation between the defense departments of Russia and Pakistan. According to Shoigu, "our meetings in May and November last year contributed to boosting contacts between the armed forces of Russia and Pakistan on many issues." "An important result of this work was the signing in November 2014 in Islamabad of a Russian-Pakistani agreement on military cooperation," he said, expressing confidence that "document implementation will give an additional impetus to all aspects of joint activity." In turn, Asif expressed the hope that the upcoming talks "will make a great contribution to the development of our relations." "Pakistan attaches huge importance to these mutual ties. Your historic visit to Pakistan helped us establish cooperation frameworks," he said, calling "a very important breakthrough" the agreement signed during that visit. The Pakistani minister said he was convinced bilateral relations will keep strengthening. Read more