MOSCOW. May 11 (Interfax) - The meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who is in Russia on a formal visit on May 11-14 at the invitation of the Russian head of state, will be held on May 12, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
The meeting will focus on the development of Russian-Pakistani relations and more pressing international issues. This will be the fifth meeting between Medvedev and Zardari.
Their previous meetings were held on the sidelines of four-party meetings of the presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Russia in Sochi on August 18, 2010, on the sidelines of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) summit in Tashkent on June 10, 2010, at the quartet summit in Dushanbe on July 30, 2009, and on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Yekaterinburg on June 16, 2009.
The high-level talks are expected to result in a joint statement by the Russian and Pakistani presidents and the signing of a number of bilateral documents - an intergovernmental agreement on air traffic and inter-agency memoranda on energy and agriculture.
The presidents' joint statement will emphasize, in particular, the presence of a significant potential for further enhancing bilateral - particularly trade and economic - relations, the Kremlin said.
Zardari will also thank Russia on behalf of the Pakistani people for the timely humanitarian aid (70 tons of essential items, a total of $7 million in target contributions to specialized international organizations) provided in the wake of a massive flood that struck Pakistan in 2010.
With regards to bilateral trade, it has yet to reach the pre-crisis level: in 2010 it stood at $362.7 million (in 2008 - $615.6 million, in 2009 - $334.4 million). The countries' biggest hope is the Russian-Pakistani intergovernmental commission for trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation.
Among issues on the agenda of the forthcoming talks between the Russian and Pakistani presidents are: coordination of efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region, including the fight against terrorism, illicit drug trafficking and organized crime.