A soldier stands guard amid burnt out cars and motorcycles at the scene of an oil tanker explosion in Bahawalpur, Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani-Russian defense industry cooperation has potential, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan (lower house) Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said Sunday at the meeting with the speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin.

"There is potential in defense industry cooperation," Sadiq said, noting that this sphere was a promising direction for the bilateral cooperation.

He also expressed hope that cooperation would "evolve from the inter-parliamentary level into intergovernmental."

In addition, Sadiq handed over an invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Pakistan. In turn, Volodin thanked his colleague and promised to convey the invitation to the Russian leader.

On December 23, a delegation of Russian lawmakers headed by Volodin arrived in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad to participate in an international conference on anti-terror fight. On the sidelines of the event Volodin is expected to meet with lawmakers from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. The speaker will also meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.