In an important move, Pakistan and Russia have agreed to increase trade and strengthen economic ties.
The development occurred during a three-day conference of 85 Muslim nations on Friday in Kazan, according to Russia Today (official media). The conference acted as a forum for the exchange of economic ideas and to improve collaboration.
According to Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar, “I think that Russia and Pakistan have made significant strides in improving their trade and political relations.” While in Kazan for the conference, he also got to meet Rustam Minnikhanov, the head of the Russian Tatarstan territory.
The leaders talked about a variety of plans to strengthen business and economic connections between Pakistan and Russia. Among the conference attendees, Qamar also had encounters with a number of business leaders.
The agreement is meant to act as a legislative framework for administrative cooperation and trading information under the unified tariff preferences of the Eurasian Economic Union between Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce and the Federal Custom Services of Russia.
It intends to lower import taxes on commodities from Pakistan that are sold in Russian markets and facilitate easy trade between the two nations.
Naveed Qamar, the minister of commerce, noted that the number of meetings between senior counterparts from both countries has led to a major increase in bilateral trade, particularly in the oil and gas industry.
To emphasise the important progress in the trade of petroleum products, he also highlighted the visit of the Russian oil minister to Islamabad, which was followed by the foreign minister of Pakistan, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, travelling to Russia. He added that after the floods of the previous year, Russia provided Pakistan with subsidised wheat supplies.
According to the official release, the recent trade pact is a crucial step towards establishing a strong legal framework to develop business ties between Pakistan and Russia.
