Minsk (TDI): Pakistan and Belarus on Friday agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation across various sectors, including agriculture, food security, industry, trade and defence.
During a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, both sides inked several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and agreed to send 150,000 skilled Pakistani youth to Belarus to back its nation-building efforts.
A comprehensive strategy for this initiative will be developed soon.
Both sides also agreed to cooperate and expand collaboration in the manufacturing of agricultural machinery, electric buses, and in the field of food security.
Moreover, the two leaders reiterated their resolve to boost defence and business-to-business collaboration.
They discussed matters relating to trade, investment and regional issues and expressed satisfaction over the recent progress on all aspects of the bilateral ties.
PM Shehbaz said a considerable progress in different sectors was made after the 8th meeting of Pakistan-Belarus Joint Ministerial Commission held last year and visit of Pakistan’s inter-ministerial delegation to Belarus.
He said that the contribution of 150,000 skilled workers is a “gift” for the people of Pakistan and expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity, underlining that this initiative will not only benefit the Belarusian economy but also provide meaningful livelihoods to the Pakistani youth.
“I assure you that the skilled Pakistani workforce, duly certified both by global standards and through national accreditation, will serve as a valuable asset to Belarus,” the Prime Minister said while speaking at a joint media conference with President Lukashenko.
Recalling Belarusian president’s visit to Pakistan in 2015-16, he said the trip had laid the foundation of long journey of friendship and collaboration in areas of mutual interest.
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The premier expressed the government’s interest in benefiting from the experience of Belarus in different areas, particularly agriculture.
“Pakistan is an agrarian country and 65% population reside in rural areas. We need your expertise to increase our per-acre yield by exploiting the modern methodologies in the sector,” he said, adding that Pakistan needed to have joint ventures with Belarusian companies.
“The companies from both countries will have a win-win situation in this regard,” he added.
The prime minister also underlined the Belarusian expertise in manufacturing mining equipment, stating that Pakistan had mineral deposits worth trillions of dollars and both nations could become great partners in this sector.
On the occasion, President Lukashenko stressed the significance his country placed on fostering strong relations with Pakistan.
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He said Belarus attached great importance to its ties with Pakistan and looked forward to deepening collaboration on multiple fronts.
Lukashenko underlined the potential for expanding bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors, including trade, industry, agriculture and technology.
He expressed optimism that the high-level engagement would pave the way for long-term strategic partnership and mutual development.
