PM Sharif’s Belarus visit yields economic opportunities

WEB DESK: Appreciating the beauty of Minsk, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on his two-day official visit to Belarus praised the country for its “excellent hospitality”. The two nations signed a series of agreements aimed at deepening economic and security cooperation.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, PM Sharif called hailed the Belarusian leader as a “visionary.” The trip, he said, built upon the momentum of Lukashenko’s 2024 visit to Islamabad, which he credited with strengthening bilateral ties.

The visit delved into various opportunities in sectors like agriculture, industry, and technology, and PM Sharif urged Belarusian businesses to invest in Pakistan, citing “immense potential” across sectors.

PM Shehbaz Sharif leaves for two-day visit to Belarus

President Lukashenko affirmed that Belarus highly values its relationship with Pakistan and welcomed the new dimensions the visit could bring. The two leaders also inaugurated a Pakistan-Belarus Business Forum, described as a key platform for boosting trade.

The agreements signed during the visit include:

• A readmission pact on migration matters
• Defence and interior ministry cooperation deals
• An economic partnership MoU between Belarus’s Business Cooperation Fund and Pakistan’s Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority
• Postal services and trade facilitation agreements

Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) also inked separate infrastructure partnerships with two Belarusian state enterprises, JSC Modor and JSC MZKT.

PM Sharif also acknowledged the contributions of Pakistan’s diaspora in Belarus, while both leaders stressed the need to combat what the Pakistani premier termed “discriminatory attitudes” hindering deeper people-to-people ties.