Opinions & Interviews

ISLAMABAD, 3 October (BelTA) – It is possible to raise Belarus-Pakistan trade up to $1 billion, BelTA learned from Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko on 3 October.

The official said: “During today’s meetings we stated that some serious headway has been made in all the spheres of our cooperation, including in agriculture, the production sector, and science. It allows us to hope that we will be able to raise the bilateral trade turnover up to $1 billion. $1 billion is not such a big figure for us and for such a huge country as Pakistan.”

The Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus noted that Belarus started selling merchandise to Pakistan a long time ago, for instance, products made by Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ trademark). “We now sell 3,000-3,500 tractors per annum. But this figure needs to at least double,” he is convinced. “Pakistan boasts a well-developed agribusiness but they have yet to do a lot to master technologies and improve labor effectiveness. We invite them to buy not just tractors but a system of tools ranging from ploughs and seeders to grain, forage, and cotton harvesters.”

On 3 October Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko met with members of the Pakistani government. The Deputy Prime Minister met with the federal minister for national food security and research and the federal minister for science and technology. He is expected to meet with the federal ministers for oil and natural resources, trade, industry and enterprises, water resources and power engineering as well as with heads of other government agencies.