GRODNO, 27 July (BelTA) – Grodno Oblast of Belarus has a great potential for cooperation with Pakistan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Pakistan to Belarus Sajjad Haider Khan told the media after his meeting with Grodno Oblast Governor Vladimir Karanik on 27 July, BelTA has learned.
“Grodno Oblast has a great potential for cooperation with Pakistan. Sindh Province and the city of Karachi, which is the industrial center of Pakistan, are very important strategic partners. A cooperation agreement was signed between the city of Karachi and Grodno Oblast in 2015. Today we talked about renewing the agreement and resuming relations in all sectors, including economy, business, culture, and education. When we resume the agreement, we will see the gaps to fill in, the areas which need to be developed, and we will make every effort to develop areas of common interest,” Sajjad Haider Khan said.
According to Vladimir Karanik, the development of cooperation with Pakistan fits into the Belarusian strategy of export diversification and the development of cooperation with far-away countries. “Pakistan is, undoubtedly, a friendly country, which has a good industrial potential and a sales market. The population of this country is more than 200 million people. Pakistan has a well-developed agriculture, which makes it possible to organize cooperation in the supply of engineering and processing products. For example, the baby food produced by Bellakt has already proved itself in Pakistan, and these supplies can be increased. Other Belarusian processed products are in demand in Pakistan as well,” the governor said.
As part of his trip to Grodno Oblast, the Pakistani ambassador is set to visit Grodno Azot, Conte Spa, Grodno Tobacco Factory, Lidselmash and Smorgon Aggregate Plant. Sajjad Haider Khan has already met with the leadership of Grodno Medical University. “We discussed the possibility of providing Pakistani students with medical education here. Your university ensures highly qualified education. Throughout the history of the medical university, 122 students from our country have got educated here. Pakistani students want to get education in other countries and we will make efforts to attract students to study in Belarus,” the ambassador said.
The parties also discussed interaction in culture. According to Vladimir Karanik, the development of humanitarian ties promotes interpersonal interaction, creates the basis of friendship between peoples and promotes development in all areas. In turn, Sajjad Haider Khan said that in June he visited the festival of national cultures in Grodno. “This year there were no representatives of Pakistan at the festival, but I promised that next time we will definitely take part. The format has not yet been decided. There is also a huge potential in the cultural sector and today we discussed the possibility of organizing joint cultural events and exhibitions in your country,” he said.
