Zubair Qureshi
Federal Minister for Human Rights (HR) Riaz Hussain Pirzada has termed the Pakistan-Belarus relations cordial and based on mutual respect with huge potential to further strengthen in the coming days.
He expressed these views while speaking as Chief Guest on the occasion of the Independence Day of Belarus. Federal Minister for Defence Production Muhammad Israr Tareen, Special Assistant to PM (SAPM) on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Charge d’Affaires Embassy of China, Pang Chunxue, Dean of Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador of Turkmenistan Atadjan Movlamov, SAARC and Central Asian countries’ ambassadors and high commissioners and also some from Europe and ASEAN attended the event.
While greeting Ambassador of Belarus, Andrei Metelitsa, HR minister acknowledged Belarus had made significant progress in the field of Information Technology (IT), industry and Science & Technology (S&T).
He said there was huge scope as well in the fields of education, cultural, infrastructure and social areas and Pakistan can learn a lot and utilize it from the Belarusian experience.
A cake was cut on the occasion to mark the Independence Day national anthems of the two countries were played. Belarus nationals, students and staff of the embassy had turned up in their traditional attire to mark the day away from their native land.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Ambassador Andrei Metlitsa thanked the chief guest for the “comprehensive overview” of the relationship between Belarus and Pakistan. It was on the 3rd of July, 1944 that Belarus celebrated the Independence Day and the 79th Anniversary of liberation of our capital, Minsk, from the Nazi invaders. The ambassador said liberation allowed the true self-determination of the Belarusian people, first as a republic in the Soviet Union, and starting from 1991 – as a sovereign state. On Pakistan-Belarus relations, the ambassador was of the view that Belarus considered Pakistan as a valuable and reliable partner in South Asia and in the Muslim world. Our countries enjoy a warmest partnership based on trust and friendship. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in February 1994 cooperation between our friendly countries has been continuously strengthened and developed in depth, he said.
Exchange of visits at the highest level in 2015 and 2016 along with the opening of the two embassies in Islamabad and Minsk became the key points in this process, he said. The true spirit and principles of our relationship are reflected in the Islamabad Declaration on Belarus-Pakistan Partnership and the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation signed in 2015.
In May this year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus visited Pakistan and I am pleased to share with you that during the visit an agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, service and official passports was signed. It will facilitate official and business visits and meetings, thus contributing to closer cooperation of the two friendly countries, the ambassador said.
Next year will be a special one for our countries because Belarus and Pakistan plan a number of events to mark the 30thAnniversary of diplomatic relations, he said.
