Pakistan vows to enhance multilateral cooperation with China, Russia at SCO moot

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar this week vowed to enhance bilateral ties and multilateral cooperation with Beijing and Moscow, state media reported, as he met senior officials from China and Russia during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

Dar had arrived in Russia on Monday to attend the two-day SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit in Moscow, met Chinese PM Li Qiang and Russian Deputy PM Alexei Overchuk.

Dar and Overchuk reviewed the full gamut of Pakistan-Russia relations, focusing on strengthening cooperation across political, economic, energy, connectivity, agricultural, industrial, educational and people-to-people areas through institutionalized mechanisms, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Tuesday.

“Pakistan and Russia have reaffirmed their commitment to enhanced cooperation at bilateral and multilateral fora, including the United Nations and Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” the state broadcaster said.

Overchuk recalled his recent visits to Pakistan and noted the country’s potential as a regional hub for transit and connectivity, the state media said.

Meanwhile, Dar also met the Chinse prime minister at the sidelines of the SCO moot when it concluded.

“They reaffirmed the ‘all-weather’ Pakistan-China strategic partnership, reviewed bilateral and multilateral cooperation— especially within the SCO— and praised the Shanghai Spirit principles guiding regional collaboration,” Radio Pakistan said.

Dar addressed the CHG summit on Tuesday, urging the bloc to activate its financial mechanisms. The Pakistani deputy premier said tools such as the SCO Interbank Consortium were under-used despite the rising need for investment in regional trade corridors, digital links and infrastructure.

“The SCO has established a foundation for sustainable economic progress, but we must aggressively utilize the tools already at our disposal, like the SCO Interbank Consortium, to finance connectivity and technical collaboration projects,” he said at the forum.

Dar noted that Pakistan viewed economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation as “interconnected threads in a single, stronger fabric of regional partnership,” and urged members to move from political declarations toward practical, cross-cutting initiatives.

He also highlighted disaster preparedness as an emerging priority for the bloc, saying Pakistan had developed a technology-driven early-response system and was ready to host simulation exercises with SCO partners.