ISLAMABAD
The Federal Minister for Commerce Makhdoom Amin Faheem has left for Moscow to attend a summit attended representatives of Russia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to officials, the three-day conference of commerce and trade ministers starts on October 22 and deliberations will be held on promoting cooperation in hydel wind, solar and coal based power projects as well as in primary sectors such as agriculture, irrigation, fisheries and dairy industries.
The meeting will discuss the establishment of a trade network extending from South Asia to Central Asia. A road link through the Wakhan corridor in Afghanistan has also been proposed. The Commerce Minister will meet his Russian counterpart to discuss enhancement of bilateral relations and the promotion of trade.
The current trade volume between two countries is a paltry $ 700 million. It is important to mention that at a recently convened summit of the head of states of Russia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, it was decided to pursue projects for advancing economic cooperation in the region. Russian companies have shown active interest in Pakistan’s financial, steel, power and oil and gas sectors.
Pakistan and Russia have decided to establish a joint ministerial commission to devise a suitable mechanism to develop mutual links. A binding agreement on bilateral investment, establishment of a joint investment council and preferential trade agreement will be in purview of the discussion.
Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan are signatories of the CASA 1000 project, under which 1000 MW of hydel power would be supplied from Central Asian states to South Asian neighbours. Land locked Tajikistan is particularly keen to use Pakistani ports as a conduit for its international trade.
Amin Faheem leaves for regional trade summit
