SHANGHAI, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he hoped that Russia-Pakistan interaction could reach new heights.
"Our relations, particularly in the political sphere, are developing well, and we hope to do a lot to bring economic interaction to a new level after a long hiatus," Putin said at a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Pervez Musharraf, in Shanghai, where the leaders are attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
"We have many fields of cooperation, including metallurgy, the oil and gas sector, transport, electric power industry and new technologies, including space exploration," he said.
Putin said the two countries were working together as part of a counter-terrorism group.
Musharraf asked Putin to support his country in its bid to join the SCO, a regional security forum founded in July 2001 by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia and China.
"I thank you for helping Pakistan to gain the status of SCO observer and would like to ask you to back our country [in its bid] to receive permanent membership in the organization," he said.
"Pakistan could play a very important role in the SCO's activity," Musharraf said.
Musharraf said the SCO aimed at combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as trade and economic cooperation.
"We are ready to render assistance in achieving our common goals," he said.
