Pakistan and Belarus agrees on roadmap for economic cooperation

Lahore: Pakistan and Belarus Tuesday agreed on roadmap for economic cooperation and vowed to increase their bilateral trade to US one billion dollars, with a focus on industrial cooperation, agriculture and infrastructure development.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his Belarusian counterpart Andrey Kobyakov following a round of talks here at the Prime Minister House said they had “a very productive round” of talks that reviewed progress and agreed on concrete steps to further enhance their bilateral cooperation.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said during the talks the two sides also discussed regional and global issues, and took decisions to further fortify their ties that encompass many new areas.

He said it was the third high level exchange between the two countries in the past six months and was reflective of the importance the two sides gave to their robust framework for  future collaboration.”We decided to undertake several new initiatives, with particular emphasis on enhancing trade and investment relations,”he said.

Pakistan and Belarus had agreed on making a roadmap for future collaboration and identification of new areas of cooperation, during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Minsk in August this year.

There has been a regular exchange of ministerial and business delegations since the visit of President Alexander Lukashanko to Pakistan in May as they gradually build up their relationship.

Both the sides are focussing equally on improving their political, trade, defence and people-to-people ties.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the economic roadmap has set a clear course of action for cooperation in various fields of trade and economy.”I am confident that this roadmap will lead us to broad and long lasting economic cooperation,” he said.

Prime Minister of Belarus Andrey Kobyakov said the focus of his visit to Pakistan was to enhance cooperation between the two countries in trade and investment. “We see Pakistan as a window for us to South Asia, while we can serve as window for Pakistan to Europe,” the Belarusian Prime Minister said.

He said the road map for economic cooperation between the two countries would go a long way and help take bilateral trade to new heights. He said his country also looks forward to initiation of talks aimed at increasing trade, so as to optimise the structure of bilateral trade for mutual benefit and sustainable economic development.

Prime Minister Kobyakov offered establishment of Joint Ventures, production of Belarusian tractors, vehicles, road construction and mining equipment in Pakistan. He said the two sides also have scope for joint projects in agriculture, food and dairy sectors.

Pointing to a trade of mere US 60 million dollars, he said, while keeping in view their strong political ties, it seems to be nothing more than a statistical error, however he expressed optimism that the two countries have all the pre-requisites to raise it easily to US one billion dollars.

The two leaders during their talks discussed collaboration in defence, education, health, science and technology, besides cooperation in counter-terrorism and narcotics control.

Prime Minister Kobyakov mentioned the cooperation on customs matters, inter-regional cooperation between provinces of the two countries, which had been agreed during the talks.

Prime Minister Kobyakov said the two countries would move ahead from simple trade into a strong industrial cooperation.”We have extensive experience in construction and can help Pakistan in agriculture, forestry sectors besides assisting it in modernising its industry,” he said.

He also offered cooperation in oil and gas fields, logistics, information technology, communications etc. He said a large business delegation was accompanying him and hoped extensive interaction with Pakistani counterparts would lead to mutually beneficial projects. “Its time for Belarus and Pakistan to explore new horizons,”he added.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recalled his visit to Minsk in August  this year, that was preceded by the visit of Belarusian President to Pakistan in May, and said the two countries since than have explored several new areas of cooperation.

The Prime Minister said establishment of a Belarusian Cultural Center in Islamabad would greatly encourage cultural interactions between the two nations, both of which were rich in heritage.

He said during the visit of the Belarusian Prime Minister,entrepreneurs of the two sides would also be meeting. He hoped it would help boost trade cooperation between the two sides, as Pakistan offered excellent opportunities for investors.

The Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif thanked Prime Minister Kobyakov for his visit and said it was their common endeavor to further enhance their bilateral relations.”We view Prime Minister Kobyakov’s visit as a reaffirmation of the commitment of the two countries to further accelerate the progress of bilateral relations.” Both the leaders concluded with the slogan of long live Pakistan-Belarus friendship.

Earlier the two leaders witnessed exchange of agreements and Memorandums of Understanding.