May 29 , 2015

News

‘Pakistan desires to build long-term ties with Belarus’
APP

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Thursday said that Pakistan desired to build a broad, substantive and long-term relationship with Belarus in all fields, including trade, economic, education, defence, and culture.

The president said this in a meeting with the Republic of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko at Aiwan-e-Sadr. The two dignitaries first had one-on-one meeting, which was followed by the delegation talks.

Welcoming the Belarus President to Pakistan on his first visit, Mamnoon Hussain said that Pakistan valued its relations with Belarus and both the countries enjoyed a warm and a cordial relationship. He hoped that the enhanced interactions between the two countries in recent past would further increase in the times ahead.

The president noted that the opening of a Resident Mission of Belarus in Islamabad last November has greatly contributed towards enhancing bilateral ties.

He said that the two countries had immense potential for economic and commercial relations, adding that the current trade volume did not reflect true potential and could be substantially enhanced. “Pakistan offers excellent opportunities for foreign investors with investment-friendly regulations and a huge market of over 180 million people. Belarusian investors could make use of the incentives provided by Pakistan in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs),” he added.

He noted that the holding of the first Pakistan-Belarus Business and Investment Forum was a positive development. “The impressive show from both sides was an unambiguous indicator of the scope for collaboration in diverse fields of economy,” the President observed.

President Mamnoon hoped that Pakistan-Belarus Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting this fall in Minsk would be beneficial for enhancing trade and economic relations between the two countries.

He said that there was a need to establish close interaction between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two countries and to work for the establishment of Pakistan-Belarus Joint Business Council. The President emphasised that there was a great scope of increasing bilateral relations in the fields of textile, agricultural equipment, heavy machinery, pharmaceuticals, dairy products and transport and hoped that signing of a number of memorandum of understandings (MOUs) on Friday would provide a solid foundation for bilateral future cooperation in diverse areas between the two countries.


Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk



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