Business news

MINSK, 23 March (BelTA) – Belarus and Pakistan can boost trade to $1 billion by 2020, Belarusian Industry Minister Vitaly Vovk said during an event marking Pakistan National Day on 23 March, BelTA has learned.

“Belarus-Pakistan relations are growing stronger year by year and the bilateral cooperation is developing fruitfully in all fields,” Vitaly Vovk said. “The last two years became a watershed for Belarus-Pakistan relations and were marked with the launch of the full-scale high-level political dialogue. In May 2015 Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko visited Pakistan for the first time. In August 2015 Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Belarus. In November 2015 Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov paid an official visit to Pakistan. His second visit to the country took place in October 2016,” Vitaly Vovk noted.

The main principles of the political dialogue are laid down in the Islamabad Declaration of Belarus-Pakistan Partnership, the industry minister pointed out. According to him, a short-term and mid-term roadmap should become the most important document in trade and economic cooperation. The task of the governments of Belarus and Pakistan is to ramp up trade to $1 billion by 2020. “We have developed the necessary legal framework to develop Belarus-Pakistan scientific, technological, cultural and interregional cooperation. These steps show the promising prospects of Belarus-Pakistan relations. Belarus intends to continue strengthening and boosting mutually beneficial cooperation with Pakistan,” Vitaly Vovk remarked.

He also underlined that Pakistan is a cradle of ancient civilizations, the crossroads of unique cultures. During the period of its independence Pakistan has come a long way of becoming a mature and flourishing state.

Vitaly Vovk highlighted that Belarus and Pakistan maintain close cooperation on the global stage in addressing topical issues of the global and regional agenda. The ministries of foreign affairs of Belarus and Pakistan have held two rounds of political consultations for the last two years. The two countries have also organized four sessions of joint Belarus-Pakistan commission on trade and economic cooperation, three sessions of a joint working group on agriculture and a session of a joint working group on industrial cooperation.