Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan on Thursday held a high-level meeting with Vice President of the Saint Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) Dmitry Chernyshev along with his delegation aimed at strengthen commodity trade ties between the two countries. The meeting focused on enhancing bilateral trade mechanisms through institutional exchange platforms and exploring new frameworks for real goods trading between the both countries, said a news release. During the meeting, Jam Kamal reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fostering trade ties with Russia, highlighting the progress made despite global economic challenges. He noted that the bilateral trade volume reached approximately US$ 963 million in FY 2023-24, with Pakistan’s exports to Russia at US$ 83 million and imports at US$ 880 million, citing banking hurdles as the main impediments. Chernyshev introduced SPIMEX as Russia’s leading commodity exchange, facilitating large-scale trade in refined petroleum, gas, fertilizers, and timber. He emphasized SPIMEX’s mission to ensure transparent pricing and efficient commodity trade, and elaborated on its role in forming a club of international commodity exchanges-a cooperative initiative. The two sides discussed activating the MoU signed between SPIMEX and Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX) to facilitate technical cooperation, information exchange, and digital integration of trading platforms. Kamal expressed strong support for continuing knowledge sharing between the two exchanges and encouraged practical steps to operationalize commodity trade using standardized, interchangeable goods such as oil, wheat, fertilizers from Russia, and rice, cotton, fruits, and vegetables from Pakistan. The SPIMEX delegation’s visit, spanning April 21-25, also includes engagements with key Pakistani stakeholders in trade, banking, and logistics sectors, aiming to build sustainable, long-term economic cooperation amid shifting global trade dynamics.