MOSCOW

The Russian and Pakistani foreign ministers discussed on Tuesday the development of bilateral relations at a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers Council session in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

Opening the meeting, Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar that relations between Moscow and Islamabad have been developing quite actively. "Inter-ministry consultations are rather regular, last year we conducted four consultations, this is really useful, we want to continue this practice," he said.

The economic sector needs additional attention, Lavrov said, urging Dar to take steps to reinvigorate the cooperation.

After the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the ministers marked "the positive development of Russia-Pakistan relations, as well as the high level of bilateral interaction at international platforms, including the UN and the SCO."

"This collaboration is based on shared or similar approaches to various regional and international issues," it said.