Pakistan hopes to increase trade with Russia to $1 bln - president

ISLAMABAD, September 5 (Itar-Tass) -- Pakistan hopes to bring its
trade with Russia up from the current 300 million U.S. dollars to one
billion U.S. dollars a year, Farhatulla Babar, the spokesman for the
Pakistani president, told journalists after a Dushanbe meeting between
presidents of Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan.
According to Babar, during a meeting with Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari stressed the necessity to
further expand bilateral relations and promote cooperation in the areas of
trade, science and technology.
Babar also said the Pakistani president had put forth an initiative to
create a mechanism of permanent dialogue with Russia at the level of
foreign ministers, who should meet in Islamabad and Moscow by turns in
order to give an impetus to bilateral cooperation.
"The president of Pakistan hailed Russia's interest in participating
in regional energy projects, such as the
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the prospecting for
oil and gas fields and the construction of hydropower plants," he said.
The spokesman also said at a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Zardari
had said Russian banks were welcome to open offices and branches in his
country. The Pakistani leader also suggested Russia's second largest city
St. Petersburg and Pakistan's capital Karachi should be declared twin
cities to encourage bilateral cooperation in the area of culture.