Belarus ministerial delegation arrives in Pakistan ahead of President Lukashenko's visit

• Interior minister warmly welcomes 68-member delegation.
• Naqvi meets Belarusian ministers for foreign affairs, energy.
• Belarus President Lukashenko to reach Pakistan today.

A high-level delegation from the Republic of Belarus landed in Islamabad on Sunday ahead of President Aleksandr Grigorievich Lukashenko's three-day official visit to Pakistan during which several agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) will be signed between the two countries.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warmly welcomed a 68-member high-level delegation from Belarus upon their arrival in the federal capital.

The delegation included Belarus' foreign minister, energy minister, minister for justice, minister for transport, minister for natural resources, Minister for Emergency Situations, and chairman of the Military Industry Committee.

Moreover, 43 prominent business personalities from Belarus are also part of the delegation.

Naqvi also met Belarus Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxim Ryzhenkov and the energy minister.

He welcomed the delegation to Islamabad and expressed that the government and people of Pakistan are eagerly awaiting the visit of President Lukashenko.

The interior minister emphasised that the president's visit is crucial in strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

He stated that Pakistan greatly values its relations with Belarus and aims to enhance cooperation in various sectors. Naqvi highlighted that the said visit will further promote cooperation between the two countries in industry, trade, and other sectors.

During his visit, President Lukashenko will hold extensive talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and discuss areas of bilateral cooperation and engagement, the Foreign Office said in a statement three days ago, adding that several agreements and MoUs would also be inked during the visit, it added.

The prime minister of Belarus, Roman Golovchenko, was in Islamabad earlier this year for the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) Meeting, where he met his counterpart among other key leaders.

In March, Ambassador of Belarus to Pakistan Andrei Metelitsa had announced President Lukashenko's visit to Pakistan during which both the countries will ink several trade and economic agreements to strengthen the existing partnership.

He said that the existing bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and Belarus is $60 million, while the actual potential is much more than that.

Metelitsa added that Belarus is exporting heavy machinery along with fertilizers, agriculture equipment, synthetic filament tow, chemicals, malt extract etc. to Pakistan whereas importing textiles, rice, Citrus, leather apparel, leather footwear and medical instruments.