Pakistan, Russia strategic partners in Eurasia, says Senator Mushahid Hussain

Pakistan and Russia are strategic partners in Eurasia, Senator Mushahid Hussain said in Moscow, where he announced the establishment of a new Eurasian Connectivity Forum aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and people-to-people links.

Speaking at the first-ever Pakistan-Russia Eurasian Forum 2025 in the Russian capital, Mushahid said the forum focused on enhancing bilateral relations with particular emphasis on non-traditional security challenges, regional cooperation and people-to-people connectivity across Eurasia.

The event was organised by academic and research institutions from both countries with the support of their governments.

In his keynote address, the senator highlighted how cooperation in non-traditional security areas could contribute to economic stability, mutual trust and stronger partnerships between societies, while opening new avenues for collaboration in a changing global environment.

He said the global shift of power from West to East was now evident, noting that even US President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy had acknowledged this reality. Eurasia, he added, had become the centre of gravity of the rising Global South.

Mushahid said Eurasian multilateralism would shape the emerging multipolar world, with Pakistan, Russia, Iran, Turkey and the Central Asian republics playing a leading role.

In this context, he announced the Eurasian Connectivity Forum as the institutional foundation of Eurasian multilateralism, stressing that connectivity encompassed commerce, culture and people-to-people exchanges, with media, academia and think tanks as key stakeholders.

He said counter-terrorism, commerce and culture, education and energy, and people-to-people connectivity would form the core pillars of the Eurasian Connectivity Forum.

The senator also called for an annual Pakistan-Russia Strategic Dialogue led by opinion-makers and business leaders, saying there was no fundamental conflict of interests between Islamabad and Moscow in the current global scenario.

He pointed to Pakistan’s balanced position on Ukraine and Russia’s neutrality during Indian aggression against Pakistan as examples of shared approaches, noting that both countries opposed the emergence of any new Cold War.

Urging both governments to “seize the moment”, Mushahid called for building a broader partnership between Pakistan and Russia amid rapidly transforming regional and global dynamics.