Deeper ties: PM greenlights land for Belarusian embassy

Ties with the Eastern-European nation have accelerated significantly in recent months

ISLAMABAD: The office of the Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pursue on its behalf the issue of allotment of land at the Diplomatic Enclave for the establishment of the Embassy of Belarus.

Correspondence over the issue between the MoFA and the PM office — available with The Express Tribune — states that the request “can proceed further subject to provision/submission of layout plans of the embassy’s proposed building, and other mandatory requirements prior to allocation of land”.

Pakistan’s ties with Belarus, an Eastern-European nation, have witnessed a significant rise in recent months.

They began with a two-day state visit by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in May. This was followed by a three-day visit by PM Nawaz Sharif to the Belarus in August, when Pakistan established its embassy in the European nation. Most recently in November, Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov visited the country.

These trips marked the first ever visits by heads on both sides. Until November 2014, both countries did not have any diplomatic or consular representations in each other’s countries. The decision for the establishment of Belarusian resident mission in Islamabad was taken in July 2014, during an official visit of the federal minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain to Belarus. Consequently, it was established in November 2014 in Islamabad.

Currently, the Belarusian embassy is operating from a residential unit in Sector F-6.

“Belarus has a small mission in Islamabad, which is temporarily operating from residential area. Soon, the embassy will be moved to the Diplomatic Enclave,” said a representative of the Belarusian Embassy when inquired about the matter.

According to an official of the MoFA, the decision of allotting a plot for the embassy was taken during PM Nawaz’s visit to Belarus under an agreement signed by both sides on the establishment of ‘Sister City Relations’ between Islamabad and Minsk.

Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognise Belarus after the dismemberment of the former Soviet Union.

During state level visits in 2015, both sides inked a number of agreements, and protocols on cooperation relating to bilateral trade, encompassing economy, industry, agriculture, research, investment, science and technology, textile and pharmaceuticals.

The official said that with the establishment of the embassies, both Pakistan and Belarus would be able to materialise promises made on both sides during recent visits.

The official added that at present, some 111 embassies, high commissions, consulates and consulate generals of various countries are operating in Pakistan, of which 78 are located in the capital, 23 in Karachi, five in Lahore, three in Peshawar, and two in Quetta. Pakistan has a diplomatic network abroad consisting of 120 embassies, high commissions, consulate generals, consulates, and multilateral organisations stationed in various countries of Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2015.