Russian Foreign Minister to hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart in Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks in Moscow with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Kasuri.

The official spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Yakovenko, said in an interview with RIA Novosti that the aim of this visit is to discuss issues relating to the implementation of agreements reached during the official visit to Moscow of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in February 2003.

"The Russian side proceeds from the premise that constructive interaction with Pakistan will contribute to creating the multi-polar world order which ensures strategic stability and security of all members of the international community," Yakovenko said.

In his words, the forthcoming talks are to focus on detailed discussion of the state and prospects of bilateral economic relations and exchange of opinions on international problems.

"We are expecting that the fulfillment by Islamabad of its obligations before the world community to fight terrorism will put an end to terrorists, who are hiding from retribution, moving to other countries," he said. He also noted that Russia gave its due to Pakistan's participation in the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan and measures undertaken by the Pervez Musharaff Administration to neutralize the activities in Pakistan of the organizations of militant Islamists.

The Russian side attaches great significance to its cooperation with Pakistan in the UN, especially in connection with Pakistan's participation in the work of the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member.

The sides also intend to pay great attention to economic issues.

As Yakovenko stressed, at present the trade turnover between Russia and Pakistan does not correspond to available possibilities."

"There is a great potential of technical cooperation at the facilities built with our assistance, such as, for instance, the metallurgical plant in Karachi. We expect that in the near future we will be able to jointly determine promising areas of bilateral cooperation, mainly in power engineering, metallurgy, telecommunications, aviation and space, the drafting and implementation of some infrastructure projects," he specified.

A working visit by the head of the Pakistani foreign ministry to Russia will last till July 10.