Belarus (Big Digit) Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visits Belarus; Pakistan seeks trade partnership

(Asghar Ali Mubarak)

Belarus (Big Digit) Diplomatic, economic, political and military cooperation between Pakistan and Belarus began after Pakistan recognized Belarus in 1991. The two countries established formal diplomatic relations in 1994. Belarus opened an embassy in Islamabad in 2014, while Pakistan established its diplomatic mission in Minsk in 2015. Belarusian President Lukashenko paid his first official visit to Pakistan on May 28-29, 2015. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Belarus from August 10 to 12, 2015. After that, Belarusian Prime Minister Andrey Kobyakov visited Pakistan from November 9 to 11, 2015. Belarusian President Lukashenko paid his second official visit to Pakistan from October 4 to 6, 2016. Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani visited Belarus from February 1 to 4, 2017. Subsequently, from April 10 to 12, 2017, the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, Vladimir Andreichenko, visited Pakistan.

From December 16 to 19, 2018, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of the Armed Forces of Pakistan visited Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in June 2019 and in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in September 2021 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State. Another high-level bilateral engagement came in May 2023 when Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Alyenko visited Pakistan. Pakistan and Belarus are also partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to promote regional trade and connectivity. Pakistan is looking for technology transfer from Belarus and investment in joint projects. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Belarus on a two-day visit. Belarusian Prime Minister Alexander Turchin received Mian Shahbaz Sharif at the airport in the capital Minsk. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Atta Tarar and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi are also accompanying the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, PML-N President and former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif has also left for Belarus. According to party sources, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has also left for Belarus. Apart from them, Senior Provincial Ministers Marriyum Aurangzeb, Hassan Nawaz, Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman have also left for Belarus, while Nawaz Sharif’s personal physician Dr. Adnan is also part of the delegation going to Belarus. Officers of the Pakistani embassy in Belarus were also present at the airport to welcome him. Pakistan is keen on cooperation in industry and trade with Belarus. The Prime Minister’s visit highlights the strong and ongoing partnership between Pakistan and Belarus. It should be noted that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had visited Pakistan on a 3-day official visit in November last year, while a 68-member delegation comprising Belarusian ministers and businessmen also came to Pakistan. On this occasion, during the Pakistan-Belarus Business Forum, 8 business-to-business memorandums of understanding and agreements were signed to promote trade between the two countries. He is on an official visit at the invitation of the President of Belarus. During the visit, the Prime Minister will meet the President of Belarus to review the progress made in areas of mutual interest. Commerce Minister Jam Kamal said that bilateral trade and investment between Pakistan and Belarus can be further expanded. During the forum, a mutual cooperation agreement was signed between the Belarus Chamber of Commerce and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. The Commerce Minister invited Belarusian investors to invest in Pakistan’s Special Economic Zones and said that the reduction in energy tariffs is providing a conducive environment for investment in Pakistan. On April 5, during the visit of a high-level Pakistani delegation led by Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan to Belarus, the two countries signed memorandums of understanding and Pakistan and Belarus agreed to cooperate in energy, communications, industry and other sectors. At a ceremony in Minsk, Belarusian Energy Minister Denis Moroz and Pakistani Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan signed various MoUs, including Pakistan Post, which will be formalized during the Prime Minister’s visit to Belarus later this month. In Belarus, Federal Minister Abdul Aleem Khan met with the Belarusian Ministers of Energy, Transport and Communications and termed the visit of the Pakistani delegation as excellent and said that we will all return from Belarus with pleasant memories. He said that we are keen to implement the existing and previous agreements, Pakistan is looking forward to the implementation of bilateral projects in important sectors including transportation with Belarus. Federal Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said that the agreements signed with Belarus are encouraging and in the light of these documents, bilateral cooperation will increase significantly. Belarusian Energy Minister Denis Moroz, while expressing his goodwill towards the Pakistani delegation, said that his country will ensure maximum cooperation with Pakistan in various sectors and practical progress will be made in the coming days. It is noteworthy that the Pakistani delegation in Belarus has finalized the details of the Prime Minister’s visit as the visit of the Pakistani Prime Minister is important in response to the visit of the President of Belarus in November 2024. The Pakistani delegation, in addition to the Deputy Governor of the State Bank, also included the Secretaries of Communications, Economic Affairs, Industry and Commerce, who assisted Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan in his visit to Belarus, while also holding encouraging and fruitful meetings and sessions with Belarusian ministers. On November 25, 2024, bilateral issues were discussed in the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and Belarus, and various agreements were signed between Pakistan and Belarus in the presence of the Foreign Ministers of both countries. Its trade volume with Pakistan was fifty-three point two million dollars. Belarus’ exports of goods were forty-four point three million dollars, while imports were nine point eight million dollars. The trade balance between the two countries is positive in favor of Belarus. In recent years, the trade volume between Belarus and Pakistan has been between fifty and sixty-five million dollars annually. While a report by the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad states that bilateral trade increased by thirty percent in the first five months of 2000, and Belarus’ exports to Pakistan increased by one point five times compared to the previous year. Pakistan is trying to increase its exports to achieve the $100 billion target under the “Vision Pakistan: A $100 Billion Export Path” strategy.
There are also important declarations between Pakistan and Belarus, including the Islamabad Declaration on Pakistan/Belarus Partnership and the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.
Belarus’ exports to Pakistan include tractors, fertilizers, defense equipment and machinery, while Pakistan’s exports include textiles, food and medical equipment.