Islamabad: The 10th Session of the Pakistan-Russia Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) on Trade, Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation concluded in Islamabad, co-chaired by Federal Minister for Energy Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari and Russian Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev. Senior officials from both countries participated in three days of meetings from November 25-27.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to a broad partnership to promote socio-economic development, regional connectivity, and bilateral trade. Discussions focused on trade diversification, business-to-business engagement, export promotion of textiles, IT services, sports goods, engineering items, and agricultural commodities, as well as pilot cargo movement and operationalization of a pilot train along agreed corridors.

Energy cooperation remained central, with talks on oil, gas, LNG, LPG, renewable energy, hydropower, and flood-resilience technologies. Industrial collaboration included pharmaceutical ventures, modernization of Pakistan Steel Mills, and potential projects in heavy machinery, mining, and advanced manufacturing.

The session also emphasized scientific, academic, and technological cooperation, including mutual recognition of degrees, scholarships, joint research, academic mobility in engineering, IT, medical sciences, and space technology, and the establishment of Russian language centers in Islamabad and Karachi.

Cultural and humanitarian ties were highlighted through interactions with 2005 earthquake survivors, cultural performances at PNCA, and the planned installation of the Yuri Gagarin statue in Islamabad. Cooperation in disaster management was also discussed, with NDMA and Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations agreeing to explore early-warning systems and emergency response training.

At the conclusion, the following agreements were signed:

MoU between Associated Press of Pakistan and Russia's SPUTNIK News Agency to enhance media cooperation

MoU between Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and Russia's Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology for standardization and conformity assessment

MoU between Competition Commission of Pakistan and Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service for cooperation in competition law and capacity building

Both sides confirmed that the 11th IGC session will be held in Russia in 2026. Co-Chairs expressed satisfaction over the outcomes and reaffirmed their commitment to implementing agreed measures to advance Pakistan-Russia relations.