MARDAN: Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Alexy Dedov said here on Wednesday that his country was looking into collaboration with Pakistan in various sectors so that bilateral relations between the two countries could be strengthened in the coming days.

He was addressing as chief guest a discussion titled ‘Pakistan-Russia relations: new prospects and challenges’ at Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan.

He said that his country had always seen Pakistan as an important country and a key player in the world politics. “Pakistan is a culturally rich country and is very important because of its geo-strategic location,” he added.

The ambassador said his country was looking into collaboration with Pakistan in various sectors including trade, energy, textile, architecture, sports and culture to further strengthen bilateral relations.

“The Russian people are aware of Pakistan’s rich culture and literature and the work of Faiz Ahmad Faiz has already been translated into Russian language,” Mr Dedov said. He added that Russian people also knew about the great poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal and Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The ambassador also gave a detailed lecture on Russian’s foreign policy and talked about the contemporary world issues such as Syria and Afghanistan. He said that his country had positively been performing its role in seeking solution to the issue of terrorism.

Says Russia is looking into collaboration with Pakistan in trade, energy, textile, architecture, sports and culture sectors

The ambassador said that terrorism was not an issue of a single nation rather an international phenomenon in which people from all nationalities of the world were involved.

He said that his country was striving for the peaceful settlement of disputes in Middle East and Afghanistan and was actively collaborating with United Nations.

To a question about the economic corridor, the Russian ambassador said that he had known through media that there was a dispute between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and central government over the route, but he hoped that both would reach a consensus.

About Pak-India relations, the ambassador said that his government welcomed the dialogue process and initiatives taken by both the neighbouring countries for peace and stability.

A session of Pakistani graduates from Russia was also held after the lecture in the meeting room of central library where the participants had a detailed discussion with Mr Dedov.

They said that Russian government should offer more scholarships to Pakistani students and provide more opportunities of cultural exchange. The ambassador thanked the organisers and the university administration for holding the event.

Later, Vice-chancellor Dr Ihsan Ali shed light on Takht Bhai’s historical background that was once a great centre of Buddhism and Gandhara civilisation.

He said that Pakhtuns were famous for their hospitality and rich culture but unfortunately their positive image was not portrayed in the national and international media.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2015

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