Islamabad (TDI): Speaker Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko will address special sitting of the Senate today evening.
The session of Senate would be held in the parliament house. The special session will start with the national anthems of Pakistan and Russian Federatio.
The Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani will deliver the introductory address, acoording to certain media reports.
The chief guest, Speaker of the Russian Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko would also address the joint session, the reports add.
It is expected that she will highlight the steps for growing ties between Pakistan and Russian Federation besides comments on parliamentary diplomacy.
Valentina Matviyenko along with a delegation arrived in Pakistan on Sunday on a three-day official visit, on the invitation of Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani.
This visit marks a pivotal moment in the growing diplomatic and parliamentary ties between the two nations.
Besides meeting with Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani and Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Valentina Matvienko will also call on President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries established on May 1, 1948 following the agreement reached in New York by then Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Andrei A.
Gromyko and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Zafrullah Khan. Shortly the Embassies of the USSR and Pakistan opened in Karachi and Moscow.
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There were ups and downs in ties between the former USSR and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan because of specifics of international politics of the “Cold War” period. However, the Soviet-Pakistan cooperation continued.
During that period Moscow continued to search out opportunities for expansion of its dialogue with Islamabad and render economic aid to Pakistan.
The Soviet Union was part of the development of Pakistan’s oil and gas industries, construction of power stations, supplied agricultural machinery.
It was It established the famous Pakistan Steel Mills in Karachi in the early 1980s, in 1980 Guddu Thermal Power Station was built with the participation of Soviet specialists which later became the biggest thermal power plant in Pakistan.
Also Read:The Diplomatic Insight -Special Supplement on Russia Pakistan-2013
Now again Islamabad and Russia are becoming closer. Russia views Pakistan as an important country because of its role in regional politics, its influence in the Muslim world and its geostrategic position as a gateway between South Asia and Central Asia with bordering China, India and the gulf region.
