Astana, 13 October 2022 (TDI): Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko on the sidelines of the 6th CICA Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Pakistan-Belarus Ties
After the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, Pakistan was among the first nations to recognize Belarus. Belarus has an Embassy in Islamabad, while Pakistan mainatins one in Minsk.
While collaborating on technology, Pakistan and Belarus established joint ventures (JVs) in the textile, pharmaceutical, and lighting solutions sectors.
In 2014, Pakistan exported goods worth $15.23 million to Belarus, of which 36% were rice, 9.27% were light pure woven cotton, 10.03% were styrene polymers, 7.43% were food preparations, 4.48% were leather clothing, and 4% were citrus.
Pakistan imported $42.65 million worth of goods from Belarus, most of which were tractors (62.04%), synthetic filament yarn (13.01%), and rubber tyres (8.06%).
Belarus also praises Pakistan’s efforts to fight terrorism and bring about peace and stability in the world and pledged its assistance.
6th CICA Summit
The sixth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) conference was hosted by Kazakhstan in Astana. The two-day Summit marked the thirtieth anniversary of the intergovernmental organization.
The leaders from Palestine, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan attended the Summit.
Among the other guests were Belarus’s President as well as the Vice Presidents from Vietnam and China. The agenda of the Summit was to deliberate on key issues pertaining to CICA’s objectives.
Along these lines, it endeavored to resolve key issues pertaining to its internal mechanism and functioning by taking into account the most pressing global issues, especially in the backdrop of the situation in Eurasia and the Middle East.
Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)
CICA is a multinational organization with the objective of collaboration for stability, security, and peace throughout Asia.
It is based on the understanding that there is a close-knit connection between stability, peace, and security in Asia and the rest of the globe.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan, first suggested the concept of holding CICA on October 5, 1992, during the 47th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The driving force behind this initiative was the need to establish an effective and acceptable system for ensuring peace and security in Asia.
CICA Member states are Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkiye, UAE, and Uzbekistan.
The CICA Observer States are Belarus, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and the USA.
The Observer Organizations include the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the League of Arab States (LAS), and the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA).
