Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Tuesday, where the two leaders emphasised the importance of exploring avenues for enhancing bilateral cooperation across various domains, such as trade and defence. The interim premier reached Beijing on Monday to participate in the 3rd Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for Inter-national Cooperation. In the meeting held on the sidelines of the forum, the two leaders stressed the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation in diverse fields besides discussing matters related to regional peace and security. Russian President Putin received Prime Minister Kakar before they held a meeting that encompassed bilateral, regional, and international affairs. In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Kakar said Pakistan and Russia had a convergence of interests on the issue of terrorism and called for enhanced cooperation and a common approach among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan. He said the neighboring countries should be the foremost to take the initiative and cooperate in the fields of intelligence, defence and counter-terrorism. Discussing bilateral cooperation, Prime Minister Kakar calling Pakistan an energy-dificient country, invited the Russian investment in the sector. Pakistan’s energy minister had recently attended an Energy Week event in Russia where he had “fruitful and constructive engagement with the Russian team, PM Kakar told Putin. He said the Russian team had come up with concrete proposals for enhancing energy cooperation, he added. In his remarks, Putin said Pakistan and Russia celebrated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Citing friendly bilateral relations, he said there existed a huge potential for cooperation between Pakistan and Russia. The Russian president said stability was inevitable for ensuring economic progress. He said both sides would exchange views and discuss the vision and steps needed to be taken to strengthen cooperation in multiple areas. He said trade relations between the two countries had increased and this year, Russia had supplied around a million tons of cereals to Pakistan.