ISLAMABAD, 25 November (BelTA) - Belarus and Pakistan have prepared a roadmap for comprehensive cooperation until 2027, Belarusian Energy Minister, co-chairman of the Belarusian-Pakistani intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation Aleksei Kushnarenko told the media on the sidelines of the Belarusian-Pakistani business forum in Islamabad, BelTA has learned.
According to Aleksei Kushnarenko, the Belarusian-Pakistani relations have been gaining momentum as evidenced by the recent events. He recalled that the seventh meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation was held in Islamabad in September. In October, Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko visited Pakistan. These days will see a meeting between the heads of state.
Islamabad is hosting a business forum ahead of the high-level talks. “The activity is very high. Representatives of more than 250 different companies and businesses are attending the forum. A number of commercial contracts and memorandums are expected to be signed during the forum. We are pleased to state that the trade between our countries is on the rise. It has already reached $34 million, showing an increase of 3.7%. At the same time, we understand that this is only the beginning. Therefore, we plan to sign a roadmap on comprehensive cooperation for the period of up to 2027,” the minister said.
This document should give impetus to the intensification of bilateral cooperation. “We see tremendous mutual interest in various areas. These are industry, agriculture, education, pharmacology and others. Both the parties have competencies that they are ready to share,” Aleksei Kushnarenko added.
Speaking about the joint business forum, he emphasized that events of this format are an effective platform for direct dialogue between business circles. As for Belarus and Pakistan, there are good commercial prospects in industrial cooperation in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, education, science, and tourism. Belarusian agricultural machinery, industrial, petrochemical and dairy products are in demand in the Pakistani market. Light industry goods from Pakistan and food products are in demand in Belarus.
“I would like to suggest that the organizers pay more attention to the development of such areas contributing to the activation of bilateral relations as the establishment of joint ventures, development of dealer networks, more active promotion of major domestic brands in the markets of our countries. The issues of expanding supplies of special-purpose and municipal equipment, light industry goods, joint implementation of infrastructure projects could become very relevant as well,” Aleksei Kushnarenko said at the business forum.