Pakistan has requested support from Russia to join BRICS.

The Pakistani government has requested Russia to play a positive role in joining BRICS. A Russian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk visited Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, for a two-day official visit. After the meeting between the Pakistani and Russian delegations, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammed Ishaq Dar and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk answered questions from journalists about the relations between the two countries during their press conference. Both officials emphasized the importance of developing the relations in their speeches.

REQUEST FOR SUPPORT TO JOIN BRICS

Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dar stated that the visit of the Russian delegation to Pakistan is an indication of the development of the relations. Dar stated that they want to increase energy, trade, and regional cooperation between the two countries, and that strengthening cooperation with Russia is a priority policy of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.

SUPPORT FOR PAKISTAN'S BRICS MEMBERSHIP

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk stated that they had a comprehensive discussion on all aspects of the economy and mentioned that the SCO will hold a meeting in Pakistan within a month. Overchuk stated that economic cooperation and relations within the SCO overlap in areas such as the use of national currencies of the two countries, climate change, food security, energy transition, and security, and said: "We also discussed the possibility of cooperation between Pakistan and the economic union of five member countries, including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan, and the opportunities for a free trade agreement between Pakistan and these five countries."

Overchuk stated that Russia will host the BRICS summit this year and said, "Relations within BRICS have been strengthened by attracting many countries. We are pleased with Pakistan's application for membership. Both BRICS and SCO are compatible with each other. We support Pakistan's application."

RELATIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND PAKISTAN ARE DEVELOPING

This visit is the first high-level visit by Russia to Pakistan since April 2021. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Pakistan in 2021, and this visit was Lavrov's first visit to Pakistan since 2012. In 2021, Pakistan and Russia signed an agreement to build the Pakistan Natural Gas Pipeline Project, previously known as the North-South Gas Pipeline Project, which is 1,100 kilometers long. Last year, Russia agreed to provide discounted oil and natural gas to meet Pakistan's increasing household and industrial energy needs.