MINSK, 8 July (BelTA) - Belarus and Pakistan have agreed to increase trade in agricultural products. This theme was high on the agenda of a meeting between Belarusian Ambassador to Pakistan Andrei Yermolovich and Pakistan Minister of National Food Security & Research Sahibzada Muhammad Mehboob Sultan, BelTA learned from the Belarusian diplomatic mission.
The parties welcomed the steady growth of trade in agricultural products between Belarus and Pakistan. “However, they stressed that the volume of trade is not consistent with the agreements to increase trade reached between the two countries at the highest level. In this regard, the parties expressed a mutual interest in expanding the range of supplied products,” the embassy informed.
Belarus is ready to supply powdered dairy products (whole and skimmed milk powder, dry whey), cheese, condensed and concentrated milk, butter, offal and canned poultry and beef to the Pakistani market.
Pakistan expressed an interest in increasing direct supplies of rice, potatoes, mangoes and citrus to Belarus.
“The parties agreed to provide mutual assistance in finding trading partners who would like to supply agricultural products to the markets of Pakistan and Belarus,” the embassy added.
In addition, the countries confirmed their intention to establish direct contacts between their business communities to set up joint enterprises to process milk in Pakistan, to produce dairy products (ice cream, drinking yoghurts, cheeses, yoghurts) and dry baby food using Belarusian dry milk and technology.
Another topic on the agenda of the meeting was the preparations for the fifth meeting of the bilateral working group on agriculture due in Minsk in autumn this year and a Belarusian-Pakistani agro-business forum on the margins of this event.
