RECENTLY, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to India, during which Russia signed bilateral agreements with India in the fields of politics, defence, energy, trade, science and technology. Putin’s visit to India may have far-reaching effects on the regional situation. While the Russia-India agreements indicate the changes taking place in global politics, they also show us that, in view of national security, there is no harm in reviewing trade relations with Russia, China and Iran.
On this occasion, Pakistan demonstrated an excellent strategy by redirecting its foreign policy towards regional powers, especially Russia. This will not only help counter India, but also because out of Russia’s 21 states, 8 have about 15 percent Muslim population, which naturally creates an inclination towards Islamic countries. There is no doubt that Pakistan and Russia share broad common political and military interests. Due to the Ukraine issue, Rus-sia’s relations with the West have deteriorated, increasing its need for new friends in this region, while Pakistan, after recent Pakistan-India confrontations, also needs to expand its friendships in the region. Moreover, Russia is a significant global power and as regional neighbours, strong and trust-based relations between Pakistan and Russia are essential for economic development. Additionally, a new bloc appears to be emerging internationally in the form of Pakistan, Russia and China.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, in an interview with the Russian news agency RIA, stated that talks are ongoing between Pakistan and Russia regarding agreements for oil exploration, production and refining. Both countries are also reviewing the possibility of establishing a new steel mill in Pakistan. In recent years, Pakistan has increased its engagement with Russia because, after Western sanctions over the Ukraine issue, Moscow is searching for new energy markets, while Islamabad wants to reduce its import costs.
There is no doubt that Pakistan’s future lies not in dependence on aid but in trade and in-vestment. Recently, Pakistan has achieved notable successes on the financial front. The ex-change rate has stabilized, global credit rating agencies have improved Pakistan’s ratings and the second review of the IMF program has been completed successfully. These developments reflect growing international confidence in Pakistan’s economic policies and reform direction.
However, despite a decline in inflation, economic stabilization and improved credit ratings, several long-standing challenges such as unemployment, the volume of debt, unstable ex-ports and weak agricultural growth still exist like termites within the economic foundations. To address these issues, the government is committed to enhancing economic diplomacy, trade and investment.
Recently, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkmenistan. The focus of relations between the two countries is their mutual economic and strategic interests. The repeated reaffirmation by both sides of their commitment to strengthening and expanding multidimensional cooperation in trade, energy, investment, agriculture and other sectors is a welcome development.
Russia is seeking allies in Asia. Russia is keen to trade with Pakistan and Pakistan also wants to take advantage of this opportunity. Over the past 78 years, Pakistan–Russia relations have evolved significantly from Cold War detachment towards growing alignment in diplomatic, economic and strategic fields. Despite early geopolitical obstacles, relations were never completely severed. Pakistan acknowledges Russia’s important role and position in the changing international system and views these relations as part of its broader commitment to maintaining balanced relations with all major powers.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Faisalabad.
