PRIME Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday held a telephone conversation to discuss a range of issues, including Afghanistan, ahead of their likely physical meeting in Beijing next month.
The viewpoints expressed by the two leaders speak volumes about growing understanding between the two countries on vital bilateral and regional issues, which augurs well for promoting bilateral cooperation in different areas.
Political and diplomatic observers are attaching significance to the telephone contact as it comes in the wake of continued lack of direct communication between Pakistan and the United States at the top level and the need for greater coordination on issues pertaining to the evolving situation in neighbouring Afghanistan, which matters much for the two countries.
The Russian persistent interest in the implementation of the North-South Gas Pipeline is yet another demonstration of the Kremlin’s desire to promote ties with Pakistan.
There have been uncalled-for delays in the execution of the pipeline, which not only has economic importance for Pakistan but also has geo-political dimensions.
In this backdrop, the assurance given by Prime Minister Imran that Pakistan was committed to collaborating with Moscow on the project is a welcome development.
The Russian President too has expressed his country’s desire to strengthen bilateral cooperation in energy and there is every reason to seize this opportunity as Pakistan is planning to import gas from Kazakhstan as well as part of its long-term plans to overcome gas shortage.
Russia repeatedly expressed its willingness to finance TAPI and hopefully its cooperation would be there in case Pakistan finally decides to go for the Kazakhstan gas pipeline project.
Bottlenecks in the way of meaningful cooperation between the two countries in the mutually agreed areas of trade, economy, energy and humanitarian sphere must be removed on a priority basis.
The Foreign Office should coordinate with other ministries and departments in this regard and the Prime Minister may consider monitoring the progress personally given the traditional bureaucratic attitude.
It is also a matter of satisfaction that Pakistan and the Russian Federation have almost similar views on Afghanistan and the two countries have been in close contact with each other in their search for durable peace and stability for the country as tranquillity in Afghanistan has much to do with plans for regional cooperation and establishment of different corridors.
The Prime Minister has also done well by personally conveying appreciation to the Russian President for his bold but realistic remarks about Islamophobia, an issue that is a matter of concern for Muslims around the globe.
