ISLAMABAD, 26 November (BelTA) - Belarus and Pakistan have excellent political relations, now it is time to raise trade and economic cooperation to match this level, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during the talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in an expanded format in Islamabad, BelTA has learned.
"We are not a giant country and we have never been prone to megalomania. But we were part of the Soviet Union, which was a high-tech country. From it we inherited good technologies that we have recently built on. I am sure that the technologies that we possess will find their use in Pakistan," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
According to him, the parties agreed to take stock of relations and get better acquainted with each other's capabilities. "I invite your ministers and specialists, heads of companies to come to Belarus, take a look at our capabilities and see what they need. There are no closed topics," the president said.
The head of state also expressed gratitude to the prime minister of Pakistan for taking control of the supply of Belarusian engineering goods. "You know that we can supply you with the necessary volumes of food, including baby food," Aleksandr Lukashenko added. “We agreed that after our meeting in the expanded format, our ministers will negotiate and agree on specific plan of action. Let's assume that the industry minister can agree with his counterpart on further actions."
The president instructed Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov to take this work under control. The head of state set the task to develop proposals from the Belarusian side and submit them for consideration. "I just want all ministers in my delegation bring back if not a portfolio of interesting projects then at least one or two ones from Pakistan. All trips must be productive. We need practical steps. Therefore, ministers need to meet face to face today, tomorrow, as much as you need, but reach agreements," the Belarusian leader stressed.
He stated that Belarus and Pakistan have excellent political relations, but trade and economic cooperation is developing slowly, despite the fact that the countries need each other.
"We are very interested in your proposal for a transport corridor, especially now. We heard you about visa-free travel. The minister of foreign affairs knows our policy very well. I think that we will not have any special problems here either," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
