Belarus mulls building tractor factory

Visiting FM holds ‘fruitful and constructive’ talks with Bilawal

ISLAMABAD:

Belarus is considering further investment in Pakistan by setting up a vehicles and tractor manufacturing factory, visiting Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik said on Tuesday, following talks with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Aleinik told a joint press conference with Bilawal that Pakistan was a reliable partner in the South Asia and in the Muslim world, and that Minsk had a consistent policy to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.

In his opening remarks, Foreign Minister Bilawal said Pakistan was committed to further strengthening the high-level engagements and bilateral cooperation with Belarus by building stronger economic, trade and investment ties.

He said he held a very fruitful and constructive meeting with Aleinik and discussed entire areas of cooperation between the two countries. He added that both the countries strove to build a mutually beneficial relationship for the prosperity of the two peoples.

“Our long-term goals for the bilateral relations include strengthening of the economic ties, expansion of trade and investment, fostering of scientific collaboration, enhancement of defence cooperation and deepening of the people-to-people contacts,” he added.

One of the key outcomes of the visit, Bilawal said, was the signing of the agreement for abolition of the visas for the diplomatic and official passport holders, which would boost high-level visits.

Another agreement between the Islamabad Strategic Institute and the Belarus Institute would lay strong foundation for educational cooperation, he said, adding that both sides agreed to take practical steps to transform the goodwill between the peoples of the two countries into a tangible cooperation.

The foreign minister said that they would build further on the discussion held during the 6th ministerial meeting. Next year, he added, both the countries would be celebrating the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship.

At the presser, Foreign Minister Aleinik said they held the meeting in a very constructive and very frank manner in which both sides agreed to further enhance the bilateral ties.

“Despite geographical and global changes, it is the desire of the two countries to build on the mutually beneficial ties,” Aleinik said, adding that they were considering further investment in Pakistan by setting up vehicles and tractor manufacturing factory.

The Belarusian minister said Pakistan was a reliable partner in the South Asia and in the Muslim world, and it had been the consistent policy of the government of Belarus to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.

The minister said Belarus was defending its sovereignty and independence of the foreign policy in the face of different pressures and was opposed to any kind of interference into the internal matters of sovereign states.

He also expressed gratitude to Pakistan for its support to Belarus at the international fora. The Belarusian minister further said that trade and economic cooperation was the major areas of their focus during their dialogue.