ISLAMABAD, January 30. /TASS/. Moscow and Islamabad hold similar positions on almost all areas of cooperation as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Russian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Albert Khorev told TASS in an interview.

"We consider the Shanghai [Cooperation] Organization as an authoritative and effective international platform for developing trust-based political dialogue on current global issues between member states, coordinating cooperation in security issues, countering terrorism and drug trafficking, promoting economic growth, regional interconnectivity and boosting logistics infrastructure," the Russian diplomat said. "The positions of Moscow and Islamabad are close or coincide in almost all of these areas," he added.

The Russian envoy lauded the contribution made by Pakistan to the SCO’s work, adding that, this year, Islamabad "will for the first time take over the presidency of the SCO Council of Heads of State."