MOSCOW- Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq met the Chairman of the State Duma, S.E. Naryshkin and discussed with him a variety of issues related to the fields of economy, trade,
business, energy, metallurgy, manufacturing, and others.
During the meeting, the Speaker specifically emphasized the political will and consensus in the parliament regarding the closer relations with Russia. "There is not a single member out of 342 in the National Assembly of Pakistan who does not support to have excellent relations with Russia," the
Speaker remarked.
Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also stressed the need of Russian investment to come to Pakistan for the mutual benefit of both the countries. "Russia can take advantage of the Pak-China "trade corridor", spread from
Chinese border to Gwadar port, as it can serve another alternative route for Russia to be linked with Middle East. This can play a vital role in the stability and economic progress of these regions," the Speaker remarked.
Sardar Ayaz Sadiq called for closer collaboration between Pakistan and Russia to combat the menaces of terrorism and drug trafficking which were badly affecting both the countries.
Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also extended invitation to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin to visit Pakistan on behalf of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He suggested that the visits of the Chairmen of the State Duma and Federation Council and their Pakistani counterparts should be a regular feature instead of an occasional occurrence.
The Chairman of the State Duma, S. Naryshkin thanked the Speaker for his visit to Russia. While agreeing with the Speaker to join hands in combating terrorism, he offered the training facilities to the Pak agencies' to effectively combat drug trafficking. He also suggested that Russia, Pakistan and regional countries should cooperate with each other to combat terrorism and deal with the emerging situation in the wake of withdrawal of NATO and US forces from Afghanistan.
He also mentioned the close Pak-Russia cooperation in IPU and Asian Parliamentary Union.