Pakistan is interested in importing Belarusian agricultural machinery and establishing joint textile production

August 2, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Pakistan is interested in importing Belarusian agricultural machinery and establishing a joint textile production. This was announced today at a meeting with heads of foreign trade departments of Vitebsk enterprises at the Vitebsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry by the Minister of Trade, Head of the Trade Mission of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Mohammad Ilyas Gori, BELTA correspondent reports. Pakistan is an agricultural country with a great need for modern agricultural machinery, and Belarus has established itself as a producer of quality machinery for farmers. This explains Pakistan's interest in Belarusian agricultural machinery, and primarily in tractors and spare parts for them, the minister explained. Currently, work is underway in the Islamic Republic to establish a joint venture with the Minsk Tractor Works. However, Mohammad Ilyas Gori expressed confidence that the products of the Vitebsk plant of tractor spare parts will find their consumer. As Oleg Solovyov, Deputy Director for Commercial Affairs of the Vitebsk plant, told at the meeting, the enterprise, which is a branch of the Minsk Tractor Works, currently sells about 35% of its products in free sale, including for export. Among the plant's partners are Pakistani buyers. For 6 months of the current year, the Vitebsk plant of tractor spare parts exported products worth $100,000 to Pakistan. "This amount would be significantly higher if Pakistani partners worked directly with the Belarusian enterprise, and not through intermediaries in the Russian Federation," believes Oleg Solovyov. "I see great potential in the relationship between this enterprise and Pakistani partners," said Mohammad Ilyas Gori and invited the management of the Vitebsk plant to take part in an exhibition in Pakistan, where a meeting with potential spare parts buyers will be organized. The minister also conveyed the interest of Pakistani textile manufacturers in establishing a joint venture in the Vitebsk region. "Pakistan's textile exports average $12 billion. However, recently they have decreased to European countries. Belarus is a gateway to Europe through which Pakistani textiles can be supplied," the minister emphasized. Investors are primarily interested in the possibility of acquiring land plots and the availability of qualified labor, he added. The Vitebsk branch of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together with the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, will prepare proposals for potential investors on the establishment of joint textile production, as well as send a number of proposals for increasing foreign trade turnover.