Ambassador of Belarus Andrei Ermolovich said that spade work has been initiated to enhance the trade volume between Pakistan and Belarus up to one billion US dollar. He said that in this connection the central banks of both countries have already inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and now steps are being taken to open bank branches accordingly.
Addressing the members of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) here Thursday, he said that two countries are enjoying good diplomatic and economic relations and its 100 percent credit goes to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President of Belarus Mr. Alexander Lukashenko. He said that under their instructions various institutions are taking necessary measures to achieve this objective. He said that initially various sectors have been identified in which bilateral cooperation could be enhanced. "These sectors include industrial, agricultural, textile, pharmaceutical and other sectors in which there was huge untapped potential for the benefit of two countries", he added.
Continuing, Mr. Andrei Ermolovich said that banking system is the prerequisite to undertake major bargains and in this connection a mutually acceptable banking system is being evolved with the active cooperation of central banks of two countries. He also mentioned the importance of bilateral trade delegations and told that business community of Pakistan should actively participate in different trade exhibitions and fairs being organized in Belarus. He told that Belarus is organizing an agricultural and textile fair this year and Pakistani exporters must participate in it. He termed University of Agriculture (UAF) Faisalabad as a prestigious and world class educational and research institution and Belarus intends to sign MoUs between UAF and NTU (National Textile University) with the respective universities of his country. He told that he has handed over a draft of MoU to the Vice Chancellors of these universities and hopefully these MoUs would be inked this year. He said that Belarus is a technologically developed country and its trucks and agriculture appliances are acknowledged all over the world. He said that in Pakistan only 10 percent cultivation is made through machines and with enhanced use of agricultural appliances Pakistan could increase its productivity manifold.
Mr. Jurabek Kirgizbekov representative of Belarus Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that his country could help Pakistan in production of powdered milk, ice cream, yogurt, animal husbandry and canned products. He told that Belarus is included in five country alliance which had no well marked boundaries.
He said that Pakistani exporters could establish their ware houses in Belarus and from there; they could make exports to these surrounding countries without any additional customs duty or taxes. Similarly, visa issued by one country is also acceptable in all the five countries. Hence, we have to take extra care while issuing visas for Belarus. He further told that many international airlines have flights for different central Asian states and we are also considering starting direct flights between Pakistan and Belarus. He said that Pakistani exporters should participate in the exhibitions in Belarus as it will help them to cultivate good relations with their counterparts in Belarus.
Earlier, in his welcome address, President FCCI Engineer Mohammad Saeed Sheikh said that Faisalabad is third largest city of Pakistan while it is second in revenue generation.
He told that FCCI has more than 5000 members within its fold who belong to almost all segments of industry and trade. He told that textile is the main strength of Faisalabad and hence it is publically known as textile capital of Pakistan.