ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Monday called for greater interaction and people-to-people contact with Belarus.
He stressed the need for new synergies of parliamentary and economic cooperation between Pakistan and Belarus. He was talking to a parliamentary delegation of Republic of Belarus led by Chairman of the House of Representatives of Belarus Vladimir Andreinchenko, who called on him in the Parliament House on Monday.
Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs Chairman Awais Leghari and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Pakistan Andrei G Ermolovich were also present.
The speaker said that consistent engagement between both countries has added depth to the existing relations and parliament endeavours to further strengthen bilateral ties between the legislatures of two countries. He underlined the need for pro-active parliamentary diplomacy to supplement government-to-government interaction.
Referring to the role of parliamentary friendship groups, he added that consistent parliamentary engagements are highly imperative for facilitating diversification of trade and economic relations.
He also called for diversification of the existing collaboration between both countries.
“Pakistan is looking for new trade partners as the government has also offered attractive incentives to foreign investors,” he added.
The speaker said that it is the best time for the companies of Belarus to explore Pakistan for investment and joint ventures in areas of mutual interest. He added that Pakistan is keen to benefit from Belarus’s trade, agriculture and manufacturing sectors in Pakistan. He emphasised the need for expansion of economic relations through sustained engagement of chambers of commerce and other business forums.
Ayaz remarked that Pakistan is committed to fostering regional integration by linking regional countries into ‘One Belt’ of trade, prosperity and connectivity. He assured the delegation that Pakistan is determined to benefit the entire region from CPEC and its seaports to assist the regional countries in achieving shared prosperity.
Andreinchenko expressed his desire to cement inter-parliamentary economic and diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Belarus. He stressed the need for regular interaction between lawmakers of both countries and said that parliamentary engagement could play a pivotal role to bring both nations closer.
He said that business communities of both countries were in regular contact and inked various agreements for mutual cooperation. He said that Pakistan is an important trade partner. He added that Belarus is interested in broadening trade with Pakistan as both the countries have immense potential to expand bilateral trade and economic relations in diverse fields.
Later, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed between National Assembly of Pakistan and House of Representatives of Belarus.
