Federal Minister for Commence, Jam Kamal Khan on Monday said the current trade volume between Pakistan and Belarus does not reflect the potential of the two countries’ economic capability, and both countries need to diversify their trade with each other capitalizing on the potential of their strong sectors. All economic sectors are open to foreign investment and priority sectors for foreign investment include energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, manufacturing, minerals, ICT, agriculture, and many more, the minister said. Federal Minister for Commence, Jam Kamal Khan said this while addressing the ‘Pakistan Belarus Business Forum’ along with the Minister for Energy of the Republic of Belarus Mr Aleksei Kushnarenko here and a large number of business leaders participated in the forum. The minister said that eight B2B MoUs/Contracts will be signed during the Forum that reflects the complementarity of bilateral trade and these will pave the way forward for more to happen. He said that it is a great honour for me to co-chair the Pakistan-Belarus Business Forum with Mr Aleksei Kushnarenko, Minister of Energy, the Republic of Belarus. We also co-chaired the 7th Session of the Pakistan-Belarus Joint Ministerial Commission held on 25-26 September 2024 in Islamabad. And I feel happy to share that the majority of the decisions we took in the JMC are materializing. This would not have been possible without the support and collaboration of Mr Aleksei Kushnarenko. Many decisions were taken and now we are seeing its practical way forward, he added. “I see huge potential to increase trade between Pakistan and Belarus in all sectors, particularly food, Pharma, textile, leather, logistics and energy. To actualize this potential both sides need to work diligently to minimize tariff and non-tariff barriers along with rationalizing import requirements to offer each other meaningful market access, however, I feel that the forums and steps would help us in achieving the key milestone of growth”, he said He said “I am quite hopeful that these engagements will help us increase our trade with each other and diversify our trade baskets as well. I also hope that during the discussions and B2B meetings, both sides will dilate upon the areas of cooperation comprehensively and will come up with practical solutions to the challenges we are facing and a way forward to enhance bilateral trade, investment, and connectivity. The minister said that the two countries’ exports and trade have a major focus on surgical instruments comprising about 62% of the total exports to Belarus and imports of Belarus tractors and machinery. Pakistan is an attractive market with a population of 250 million people and constitutes the sixth largest market in the world. An economy that thrives from many natural and industrial indigenous resources, an economy which has huge potential for growth and enhancements, he said. He said that Pakistan’s exports in meat and dairy, agricultural, wood, paper and paperboard could be increased through bilateral trade cooperation and Pakistan looks forward to receiving investment and transferring knowledge and technology through Joint Ventures from Belarus “I would like to share that in Pakistan, Belarusian Tractors is a household name and It is considered a symbol of durability and strength. The same is reflected in our bilateral relations as well. I wish this cooperation may be enhanced to other sectors of agricultural machinery and automobiles sector.” He said that the government of Pakistan attaches tremendous importance to improving regional trade, investment and economic connectivity and “We want to progress very fast on major regional connectivity interventions and make Pakistan, a trade and transit hub for the region.” Among them was in the field of Electronic Cooperation which has been agreed upon and decided on the development of the Roadmap for Comprehensive Cooperation for 2025-27. This Roadmap has given timelines and assigned responsibilities to the Ministries/organizations/ agencies concerned which would help us achieve the set targets in a timely manner, he said. The minister said that as members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Pakistan and Belarus are also working closely to promote regional trade and connectivity and their collaboration within the SCO complements their bilateral initiatives and underscores a shared commitment to advancing economic and regional development. These efforts highlight the growing partnership between the two nations, fostering progress both bilaterally and within the broader regional framework. Jam Kamal said that Pakistan and Belarus have long-standing diplomatic relations and the Government of Pakistan attaches huge importance to its relations with Belarus. This is reflected by the high-level meetings on various forums and the visit of the honourable President of Belarus to Pakistan. He said that holding this Pakistan-Belarus Business Forum is a manifestation of these excellent relations which are bonding and progressing with each passing time. “I would once again like to appreciate Mr. Aleksei Kushnarenko and the Government of Belarus for sending the business delegation here. Let us seize this opportunity to build a brighter future together, interact with each other and explore more possibilities for growth and trade. Meanwhile, on the occasion, Minister for Energy of the Republic of Belarus Mr Aleksei Kushnarenko said that opening the next Pakistani-Belarusian business forum today, “we can confidently state that events of this format are an effective platform for direct dialogue between the business circles of Belarus and Pakistan. He said that Belarusian agricultural machinery, industrial, petrochemical, and dairy products are in demand on the Pakistani market and in Belarus, light industrial goods and food products supplied from Pakistan are in demand. At the same time, the existing cooperation potential allows us to set and successfully solve more ambitious tasks to bring foreign economic, trade and humanitarian cooperation between our countries to a qualitatively new level, he said. “I am sure that the result of the work of the Forum will be several new joint projects in the sphere of trade, industrial production, agriculture, healthcare, education and other promising areas,” he said. The exchange of opinions and proposals between its participants will contribute to the significant expansion of bilateral and multilateral cooperation and will allow us to coordinate mutual steps for the development of cooperation.