Roundtable held to discuss 75 years of Pakistan-Russia diplomatic ties

Islamabad: The Centre for Strategic Perspectives (CSP) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) on Wednesday organized a Roundtable with Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Pakistan Danila Ganich in connection with the commemoration of 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Russia.

Director General ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood chaired the discussion.

The participants included former Senator Sahar Kamran, Lt. Gen (retd) Asad Durrani, President, IRS Ambassador Nadeem Riyaz, former ambassadors of Pakistan Shah Jamal and Tasneem Aslam, DG ISSRA, NDU Major General Muhammad Raza Aizad, Senior Research Fellow, IPS Dr. Tughral Yamin, Assistant Professor, NUST Dr. Farah Naz, Director, Area Study Centre for China, Russia & CARs Dr. Shabir Ahmed Khan, Professor, NUML Dr. Asma Naveed, Research Economist, PIDE Dr. Afia Malik and Executive Director, PRIME and Research Associates from CASS and IPRI Ali Salman.

Director CSP Dr. Neelum Nigar and the research faculty of ISSI also participated in the roundtable.

Roundtable held to discuss 75 years of Pakistan-Russia diplomatic ties

In his welcome remarks, DG ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood outlined the different phases of Pakistan-Russia relations over the past 75 years – including in the cold war era, the post-cold war years, and the current phase.

He underlined that the relationship, currently, was marked by friendship, increased mutual understanding, and growing cooperation across myriad domains.

Noting convergent interests across a range of regional and international issues, he observed that the desire for enhanced cooperation was driven by Pakistan’s deepening engagement with the Eurasian region and the imperatives of geo-economics.

During the absorbing interactive session, the deliberations focused on multiple dimensions of Pakistan-Russia relations, which, the participants noted, were marked by cooperation in diverse fields, including energy, security, agriculture, and people-to-people contacts.

In the regional context, developments with regard to Afghanistan, South Asia, Central Asia and regional connectivity were discussed.

The evolving situation with respect to the Ukraine conflict was also reviewed. The prospects of a political settlement and China’s potential role in this context was evaluated. The participants shared their views and assessments.