THE visit of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, his substantive all-encompassing talks with Pakistani leadership and signing of a number of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) reflect the political will on the two sides to boost bilateral relations in diverse fields. The significance and nature of the visit can be gauged by the fact that a day before arrival of the distinguished guest, a 68-member high level delegation from Belarus arrived in the federal capital, which included Belarusian foreign minister, minister for energy, minister for justice, minister for transport, minister for natural resources, minister for emergency situations, and chairman of the Military Industry Committee. Additionally, 43 prominent business personalities of Belarus also formed part of the delegation. A productive Pakistan-Belarus Business Forum was held, co-chaired by Commerce Minister Jam Kamal and Belarus’ Minister of Energy Aleksei Kushnarenko, leading to signing of important MoUs.
The very fact that President Aleksandr Lukashenko dispatched an advanced delegation and chose to visit Islamabad in the midst of heightened political tension due to the protest call of the opposition PTI, speaks volumes about his commitment and desire to translate cordiality of political ties into concrete actions for deeper economic and trade interaction between the two countries. The visit was planned at a time when the two countries were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, which are characterized by mutual respect and trust and constructive dialogue based on the Islamabad Declaration of Pakistan-Belarus Partnership and the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation of 2015. Pakistan was one of the first countries to have recognized Belarus in 1991 and since then the two countries have maintained closer cooperation in different fields. Political, economic, diplomatic and military cooperation has evolved significantly since the early 1990s but the pace of forging ties was not up to the mark as evident from the fact that diplomatic relations were formally established on February 3, 1994 but the establishment of resident diplomatic missions only occurred two decades later, with Belarus opening its mission in Islamabad in July 2014 and Pakistan reciprocating in Minsk in August 2015. It may also be pointed out that the two countries created several working groups and forums to enhance cooperation in sectors like industry, agriculture, science and technology, and to institutionalize business-to-business collaborations but the total volume of the bilateral trade leaves much to be desired. Belarusian exports to Pakistan have predominantly included tractors, fertilizers, defence equipment, and machinery, while Pakistan’s exports have largely consisted of textiles, food products, and medical instruments. There is greater scope for diversification of trade and it is encouraging that a commitment for the purpose was made during the business forum and leadership talks. Speaking at the business forum, Pakistan Commerce Minister said there was a need for trade diversification, emphasizing the untapped potential in sectors such as food, pharma, textiles, logistics and energy. He also underlined that all economic sectors are open to foreign investment and priority areas include energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, manufacturing, minerals, ICT, agriculture and many more. Reciprocating, Belarus Minister for Energy said agricultural machinery, industrial, petrochemical and dairy products are in demand in the Pakistani market and light industrial goods and food products supplied from Pakistan are in demand in Belarus. Foreign policy experts argue that the objective of bolstering economic relations can be realized if the two countries evolve strategies like establishing new or strengthening existing bilateral trade agreements, organizing business delegations and expos, promoting joint ventures and investments, encouraging cultural and educational exchanges, collaborating on infrastructure projects, engaging in technology transfer and shared research. They also propose implementing trade facilitation measures, coordinating policies and dialogues, establishing financial cooperation, promoting tourism, and cooperating in the agricultural and energy sectors.
