Samarkand, Sept. 16,2022:Russian President Vladimir Putin called Pakistan a “priority partner” in Asia and said that gas supplies to Pakistan are possible with part of the necessary infrastructure already in place. Putin held a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. “I would like to note that we see Pakistan as a priority partner in Southeast Asia and Asia as a whole. Relations between our countries are developing absolutely positively, and we are pleased about that,” said Putin to Sharif according to a Kremlin readout. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Russian President Putin on the sidelines of the Shangai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand. During the meeting, Putin said that pipeline gas supplies to Pakistan were possible and that part of the necessary infrastructure was already in place, Reuters quoted Russian state-owned news agency RIA as saying.
While calling for need to work on connectivity and energy projects, Putin discussed possibility of Pakistan Russia Stream Gas Pipeline project which he said required the infrastructure for delivery of LNG to Pakistan, according to a statement issued by the Russian presidency. It was highlighted that the political stability in Afghanistan was essential to accomplish the connectivity projects.
He said Russia saw Pakistan as a priority partner in Southeast Asia and Asia as a whole and the relations between the two countries were developing “absolutely positively.”
