KARACHI:Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said Wednesday that in the emergence of a multipolar world and changing power configurations world-wide and the South Asian region, Pakistan’s close association with Russia was very important and cooperation between them would bring prosperity to the entire South Asian region.
This he said while talking to a high-powered delegation of Saint Petersburg, Russia, which was led by its Vice Governor Sergej N. Movchan, here at CM House. The delegation comprised leading companies from St. Petersburg.
He said that the current phase between the two countries was very promising and encouraging. “There have been frequent high-level visits over the past few years, and interaction between the two-sides compared to the past has been intense.”
It may be noted that on the occasion of 70th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between Pakistan and Russian Federation, the reciprocal visit by Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg, Sergej N. Movchan along with a high-level business delegation is from 24-26 April.
The Sindh chief minister and Vice Governor of St Petersburg signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for further cooperation in education, energy, oil, & gas, textile, water filtration and pharmaceutical.
It may also be noted that during the reciprocal visit of Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg, Sindh Board of Investment has hosted a meeting and Sindh St. Petersburg Business Forum to instigate partnerships among the local and Russian counterparts.
Russia is currently involved in many energy projects inside Pakistan and is fully committed to help Pakistan alleviate its energy crisis. Russia is the world’s largest producer of oil and gas and Pakistan has welcomed Russian investment in the energy sector. The expertise of Russia’s oil company like Rosneft and Gazprom Gas Company have contributed significantly to developing Pakistan’s oil and gas potential.
The chief minister said that the trade links had existed historically between the two countries, but the volume of trade needed to be increased exponentially so that both countries could reap more benefits from it. Pakistan exported goods worth $ 131.68 million in 2017 as against exports of $ 151.41 million in 2016. This shows a decline of 13 percent.
In the meeting, it was agreed that the Saint Petersburg would provide technical assistance and technology in the treatment of waste water and desalination of sea water. The chief minister also invited Saint Petersburg and Russian business community to invest in Thar Coal mining and power generation. He also added that Russians had expertise in ports and shipping sector. The Sindh government is interested to develop Keti Bander ports and jetty. He invited Russian firms to take benefit from business opportunities in Sindh.