ISLAMABAD: Pakistan appreciates Russia’s acknowledgement of Pakistan’s commitment and sacrifices in the war against terror. Russia’s cooperation with Pakistan in this war without any demand of “do more” is praiseworthy. This was stated by Minister of State and Chairperson BISP, MNA Marvi Memon while chairing a meeting of Pakistan – Russian Federation Parliamentary Friendship Group (PFG) as Convener with the Russian parliamentary delegation today at Parliament House, Islamabad. The Russian parliamentary delegation was headed by I. Piskarev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Counter Corruption. The other members included Mr. Dmitry I. Savelyev, Mr. Sergey V. Alenkin and Mr. Valery V. Fadeev. PFG included Ms. Amra Khan, Mr. Shaheryar Khan Afridi, Ms. Mussarat Ahmedzeb, Ms. Shakila Luqman and Sheikh Salahuddin. During the meeting, the two sides discussed to expand cooperation in the fields of regional security, counter terrorism, economic and trade relations, energy sector, defense sector, peaceful use of nuclear energy, parliamentary and cultural exchanges. H.E Mr. I. Piskarev, on the occasion, stated that Russia aims to maintain closer relations with Pakistan. Fighting terrorism with the objective of its eradication is the common destiny of both Islamabad and Moscow. Russia considers Pakistan as an important regional power with whom Russia intends to enhance bilateral economic cooperation beyond the current bilateral trade turnover of US$ 405 million. Ms. Marvi, in her welcome remarks, stated that Pakistan attaches high priority to its relations with Russia. The younger generation of politicians in Pakistan realise the time lost in forging deeper ties with Russia. It desires that the imbalance created during the Cold War be fixed immediately and Pak-Russia strategic partnership takes central stage. It also desires to forge a long-term and multidimensional partnership with Russia which would contribute towards promoting peace, stability and regional cooperation in South, Central and West Asian regions. Talking on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Ms. Memon said that Pakistan has taken extensive measures to strengthen nuclear safety and security and Pakistan’s participation in NSG reflects our strong support for international non-proliferation regime. While referring to the regional peace and stability, the Minister said that India is advancing US agenda in Afghanistan causing instability in the region. Moreover, India is creating disturbance on LOC through cross border firing with the sole aim of deviating world’s attention from Kashmir issue. The two sides agreed on frequent parliamentary and cultural exchanges which would help both sides to enhance bilateral cooperation on every front. Published in Daily Times, December 13th 2017.