Gen Kayani leaves for 3-day Russia tour

Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani has left for a three-day official Russia tour on Wednesday here, Geo News reported. While the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov expected to visit Pakistan this week will be holding broad-based discussions with the Pakistani leadership in Islamabad at the same time. Gen Kayani’s trip as part of the new efforts launched by the former cold war rivals to open a new chapter in their ties would be holding talks with his Russian counterpart besides meeting with other Russian leadership in Moscow. The Afghan endgame is believed to be a major factor behind the apparent rapprochement between Islamabad and Moscow. Pakistan and Russia are increasingly concerned about the future of Afghanistan and that is why they intend to expand their cooperation, said analysts. A statement issued by the foreign ministry also hinted at this assessment by suggesting that Pakistan and Russia “share the common objective of peace and stability” in the region. “We attach importance to regional connectivity both in terms of trade and energy cooperation,” the statement added. Recently, the two countries also held their second Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Islamabad and discussed concrete proposals on various areas of cooperation including energy, industries and production, bilateral trade and investment, scientific and technical cooperation, agriculture, etc.