ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday emphasized on Belarus to work diligently to minimize tariff and non-tariff barriers along with rationalizing import requirements to offer each other meaningful market access as the current trade volume between both countries does not reflect actual potential.
Addressing ‘Pakistan Belarus Business Forum, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal said all economic sectors are open to foreign investment and priority sectors for foreign investment include energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, manufacturing, minerals, ICT, agriculture, and many more. The Minister for Energy of the Republic of Belarus Aleksei Kushnarenko also attended the Business Forum.
Commerce Minister said that eight B2B MoUs/Contracts will be signed that reflect the complementarity of bilateral trade and these will pave the way forward for more to happen.
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He said that it is a great honour for him to co-chair the Pakistan-Belarus Business Forum with Aleksei Kushnarenko, Minister of Energy, of Belarus.
The two men also co-chaired the 7th Session of the Pakistan-Belarus Joint Ministerial Commission held on 25-26 September 2024 in Islamabad, adding that majority of the decisions taken in the JMC are materializing.
He said this would not have been possible without the support and collaboration of Aleksei Kushnarenko, adding that many decisions were taken and “now we are seeing its practical way forward.”
“I see huge potential to increase trade between Pakistan and Belarus in all sectors, particularly food, pharma, textile, leather, logistics and energy. To actualize this potential both sides need to work diligently to minimize tariff and non-tariff barriers along with rationalizing import requirements to offer each other meaningful market access, however, I feel that the forums and steps would help us in achieving the key milestone of growth,” Kamal added.
Kamal said that Pakistan’s main exports to Belarus are surgical instruments comprising about 62% of total exports while tractors and machinery are major import items from Belarus.
Pakistan is an attractive market with a population of 250 million people and constitutes the sixth largest market in the world. Pakistan economy thrives from many natural and industrial indigenous resources, and is an economy which has huge potential for growth and enhancements, he said.
He said that Pakistan’s exports in meat and dairy, agricultural, wood, paper and paperboard could increase through bilateral trade cooperation and Pakistan looks forward to receiving investment and transferring knowledge and technology through Joint Ventures with Belarus
“I would like to share that in Pakistan Belarusian Tractors is a household name and it is considered a symbol of durability and strength. The same is reflected in our bilateral relations as well. I wish this cooperation will be enhanced to other sectors of agricultural machinery and automobiles sector,” he added. He said that the government of Pakistan attaches tremendous importance to improving regional trade, investment and economic connectivity and “We want to progress very fast on major regional connectivity interventions and make Pakistan, a trade and transit hub for the region.”
Among them was in the field of Electronic Cooperation which has been agreed upon particularly the development of the Roadmap for Comprehensive Cooperation for 2025-27. This Roadmap has given timelines and assigned responsibilities to the Ministries/organizations/agencies concerned which would help us achieve the set targets in a timely manner, he said.
The Minister said that as members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Pakistan and Belarus are also working closely to promote regional trade and connectivity and their collaboration within the SCO complements their bilateral initiatives and underscores a shared commitment to advancing economic and regional development.
On the occasion, Minister for Energy of Belarus Aleksei Kushnarenko said while opening the next Pakistani-Belarusian business forum today, “we can confidently state that events of this format are an effective platform for direct dialogue between the business circles of Belarus and Pakistan.”
He said Belarusian agricultural machinery, industrial, petrochemical, and dairy products are in demand on the Pakistani market and in Belarus light industrial goods and food products supplied from Pakistan are in demand.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024