MINSK, 18 February (BelTA) – There are a lot of opportunities to strengthen cooperation between Belarus and Pakistan, Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BelCCI) Vladimir Ulakhovich told BelTA following the meeting with diplomats from Pakistan.
“Pakistan is a very capacious and in some ways premium market. It is a country that is developing and building its independent policy, having complicated relations with some neighboring states, so it is interested to cooperate with Belarus. The market of Pakistan is also well-known for Belarusians. A lot of Belarusian tractors were brought to this market in the Soviet times, and our products are still well known there,” the BelCCI head said.
According to Vladimir Ulakhovich, there is a demand for Belarusian mechanical engineering and chemical products in the market of Pakistan. “Food products, pharmaceuticals, haulers and petrochemical products are the areas where our cooperation should also be developed,” he believes.
According to the BelCCI chairman, apart from visits at the highest level Belarus and Pakistan maintain inter-parliamentary dimension of cooperation. The Belarus-Pakistan Business Council has already held several sessions, and this year there are plans to hold its virtual meeting. Plans are also in place to hold an intergovernmental commission, the program of which will include a business forum. In October, Belarusian companies are scheduled to participate in an industrial exhibition in Karachi. “Thus, we can say that there is necessary infrastructure and legal framework for strengthening and further developing our cooperation. The previous year, marred by COVID-19, of course, had a negative impact, and we have not improved our mutual trade much, although we have a great potential. Today Pakistan is a key textile exporter, and we can confidently say that there is an opportunity for cooperation between our textile companies. So the target, which was discussed during the visit, to bring the mutual trade to $1 billion, is quite realistic,” said Vladimir Ulakhovich.
On 18 February the BelCCI hosted a meeting of representatives of Belarusian companies with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Pakistan to Belarus Sajjad Haider Khan and Trade and Investment Advisor of the Embassy of Pakistan in Russia Nasir Hamid. The event was attended in person and online by 100 representatives of Belarusian companies and organizations operating in such sectors as mechanical engineering, retail and wholesale trade, pharmaceuticals, textiles, food production, education, investment, transport logistics, banking, science and innovation.
