Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari were meeting in the Kremlin on Thursday.

The presidents signed a joint statement calling for broader economic and political ties. Russia also discussed Pakistan involvement in a pipeline from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and expressed interest in helping it modernize a steel plant in Karachi and explore for gas. Zardari’s visit is his first major foreign trip since Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan earlier this month.