ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Russia have signed a first ever agreement on barter trade between the two countries, the Pakistani embassy in Moscow said on Tuesday, as a delegation of over 60 Pakistani companies participated in an inaugural Pakistan-Russia Trade and Investment Forum in Moscow.
The forum was inaugurated by Pakistan’s Ambassador to Russia Muhammad Khalid Jamali along with high-level Russian officials, including Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Alexey Gruzdev and Evgeny Fidchuk, an adviser to the Russian transport minister.
The Pakistani delegation, led by Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, attended the forum with an aim to strengthen economic ties and explore new business opportunities in Russia. According to the Pakistani embassy in Moscow, over 100 Russian companies are taking part in the forum as well.
“A significant milestone was achieved with the signing of the first-ever MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] on barter trade between Pakistan and Russia,” the Pakistani embassy told Arab News in a statement.
“The Russian company, LLC Astarta Agrotrading, and Pakistani firms, Meskay & Femtee Trading Company and National Fruit Processing Factory, entered into agreements for the exchange of goods, including chickpeas, rice, mandarins, potatoes and red lentils.”
More than 60 Pakistani companies, having a combined export value exceeding $500 million, showcased a diverse range of Pakistani products and services, including textiles, leather, sports goods, pharmaceuticals, food, agricultural products, logistics, and tourism, at the event, according to the Pakistani mission.
On the Russian side, more than 60 officials from the Industry and Trade, Agriculture, Economic Development and other ministries as well as representatives from the Russian Export Center, Federal Chamber, Moscow Chamber, regional chambers and leading associations attended the forum. Additionally, Russian banks such as MKB were present to explore potential collaborations.
Addressing the forum, Pakistani Privatization Minister Khan said the current trade volume between the two countries did not reflect their potential.
“Our desire is to enhance trade and investment,” the minister said in televised comments, adding that Pakistan constituted the 5th largest market in the world and had the most liberal trade and investment regime.
“There is a huge potential for an increase in trade between the two countries and today marks the start of new bilateral relations with Russia.”
Russian Deputy Trade and Investment Minister Gruzdev welcomed the Pakistani delegates and said this interaction would have a positive impact on bilateral relations between the two countries.
“This forum will open new avenues of trade and investment,” he added.
In his inaugural address, Pakistan’s Ambassador Jamali emphasized the forum would increase trade opportunities between Pakistan and Russia.
“Trade will benefit both countries and we already have a mechanism for road transport as we signed a road transport agreement in 2022,” he added.
Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have warmed up to each other in recent years through regular business and trade interactions. As Islamabad seeks to enhance its role as a transit hub for landlocked economies in Central Asia, it has expressed interest in connecting with Russia through Central Asian states for bilateral trade.
Islamabad’s ties with Russia also saw significant improvement last year after Pakistan started purchasing Russian crude oil at a discount rate. The development came after geopolitical tensions almost doubled the fuel prices in Pakistan last year, forcing the South Asian country to opt for cheaper sources of fuel.
Pakistan also received its first shipment of liquified petroleum gas from Russia in September 2023, marking Islamabad’s second major Russian energy purchase.
Last month, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk arrived in Islamabad on a brief visit, seeking to expand trade and investment ties with Pakistan.
Pakistan, Russia sign first ever barter trade deal at inaugural trade forum in Moscow
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Pakistan, Russia sign first ever barter trade deal at inaugural trade forum in Moscow
- More than 60 Pakistani and 100 Russian companies are participating in the event in the Russian capital of Moscow
- Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have warmed up to each other in recent years through regular interactions
Pakistan PM to visit Saudi Arabia Monday, reaffirm support for Palestine at international conference
Pakistan PM to visit Saudi Arabia Monday, reaffirm support for Palestine at international conference
- Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh will bring together heads of state and governments from Muslim countries
- Visit will be Sharif’s second trip to the kingdom within days, as both sides bolster economic collaboration
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Saudi Arabia next week to attend the second Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh, the foreign office said on Thursday, where he will emphasize Pakistan’s unwavering support for Palestine.
The visit marks Sharif’s second trip to the kingdom within days, as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia strengthen economic ties, having recently signed 34 memoranda of understanding and agreements totaling $2.8 billion.
The summit, convened at Saudi Arabia’s initiative, will address escalating tensions in the Middle East, where Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon have intensified, while tensions between Iran and Tel Aviv have led to recent missile exchanges.
Foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch noted in her weekly briefing that the summit builds on the extraordinary gathering held on November 11, 2023, focused on Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to participate in the second joint Arab-Islamic Summit being held in Riyadh on 11th of November,” she said.
“Heads of state and government and senior officials from Arab League and OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] member countries are expected to participate in the summit,” she added. “The prime minister will reiterate Pakistan’s full support for the Palestinian cause, calling for an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza.”
Sharif is expected to advocate for an urgent, unconditional ceasefire and a halt to Israeli military actions that threaten Middle Eastern security, according to the spokesperson.
Pakistan will also push for international protection for Palestinians and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“On the sidelines of the summit,” Baloch continued, “the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from other Arab League and OIC member states.”
Amid ongoing Middle Eastern conflicts, Pakistan has dispatched over a dozen relief consignments to Gaza and Lebanon and provided diplomatic support, urging the international community to hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government accountable for its actions in the region.
Pakistan’s northwestern province urges public to expose proxy ownership, help curb tax evasion
- KP chief minister promises 40 percent share to people for identifying ‘benami’ properties in the province
- CM Gandapur says while addressing a seminar his administration wants to introduce a whistleblower law
PESHAWAR: In an effort to document the economy and broaden the tax net, the chief minister of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province announced Wednesday that attractive rewards would be offered to whistleblowers who assist the government in identifying instances of proxy ownership, locally known as benami properties, in the province.
Benami properties are assets registered under another person’s name to disguise the actual owner’s identity, often used to conceal movable or immovable assets for tax evasion or other purposes.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur outlined his plan to introduce a whistleblower law at a seminar on combating drugs in Peshawar aimed at rooting out corruption from the province.
“Anyone providing information in helping the government identify a benami property will get 40 percent share,” he said.
Gandapur maintained people should help out the government, adding they should benefit from the opportunity that his administration was providing.
Pakistan’s tax collection body, the Federal Board of Revenue, announced in 2019 it would confiscate vehicles and properties with proxy ownership, as well as fictitious bank accounts.
The chief minister said public cooperation was crucial to the government, which could not advance without their support.
He also spoke out against the widespread availability and use of drugs in the province.
“The KP government has a zero-tolerance policy on drugs, and we have issued clear directives to relevant departments and institutions to crack down on the drug trade,” he added.
He stressed the government should deal sternly with those involved in drug trafficking. Gandapur described the drug trade as a heinous crime and vowed to impose exemplary punishment on those engaged in it.
“During our tenure, we have rehabilitated 2,400 drug users, including individuals from other provinces and even Afghan nationals,” he said, adding that the rehabilitation program would continue until drug users take control of their lives and become responsible citizens.
Bomb and mortar attacks in northwest Pakistan kill four security officers, two schoolchildren
- Pakistan has launched dozens of operations against militants, but they continue to carry out attacks
- The bomb attack took place in South Waziristan while the children were killed by a mortar in Tirah valley
PESHAWAR: A roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying security forces in northwestern Pakistan, killing four officers and wounding five others, officials said Thursday, while two schoolchildren also lost their lives when a mortar exploded nearby elsewhere in the region.
The roadside bombing happened Wednesday in South Waziristan district, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, local police officer Dilawar Khan said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, has stepped up its assaults in the region since its ally the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
Later the same day, a mortar fired by insurgents landed near a road in the Tirah valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, killing two schoolchildren who was going to school on foot, police said.
The Pakistani military has launched dozens of operations against the Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents in South Waziristan and other former tribal regions nearby, but the militants continue to carry out frequent attacks.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with Chinese ambassador Jiang Zaidong in Islamabad to brief him about an investigation into an attack Tuesday in which a guard shot and wounded two Chinese nationals at a textile mill in the port city of Karachi, allegedly over a private dispute.
China has frequently demanded better security for its nationals who are in Pakistan to work for Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.
Pakistan condemns Israeli efforts against operations of UN agency for Palestinian refugees
- Israel’s parliament voted last month to ban UNRWA from operating within Israel and occupied East Jerusalem
- Almost all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people are dependent on aid and services from UNRWA
ISLAMABAD: Acting Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, has “strongly condemned” Israel’s attempts to dismantle the operations of the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), calling it a part of Israel’s “genocidal campaign” against the people of Palestine.
Israel’s parliament voted last month to ban the UNRWA from operating within Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, crippling its ability to work in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Almost all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people are dependent on aid and services from the agency.
The move has faced widespread condemnation, with UNRWA warning the new law could see aid supply chains “fall apart” in the coming weeks. Israel has defended the move, repeating its allegation that a number of the agency’s staff were involved in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks last year, which killed 1,200 people.
“The adoption of the law by the Israeli parliament [is] a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, international law, provisional measures set by the International Court of Justice, and the ICJ’s advisory opinion issued on July 19,” Jadoon said while speaking at a UN General Assembly meeting, calling on the international community, in particular the UN Security Council, to hold Israel accountable for its actions and ensure unimpeded operations of UNRWA.
Jadoon demanded a stop to the “demonization and delegitimization” of UNRWA.
“By targeting the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, Israel not only obstructs vital humanitarian assistance but also threatens the collective effort to uphold the Palestinian people’s identity, rights and aspirations for justice and peace,” Jadoon added.
Founded in 1949, UNRWA works in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, initially caring for the 700,000 Palestinians who were forced from or fled their homes after the creation of the state of Israel. Over the decades, the agency has grown to become the biggest UN agency operating in Gaza.
Since the war in Gaza began in October last year, the agency says it has distributed food parcels to almost 1.9 million people and also offered nearly six million medical consultations across the enclave over the course of the conflict.
More than 200 UNRWA staff have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023 in the course of those duties, according to the agency.
Pakistan, China to form joint security strategy following attack on Chinese workers in Karachi
- Mohsin Naqvi says ensuring the safety of Chinese citizens and projects is Pakistan’s top priority
- Chinese envoy maintains Beijing is ready to enhance bilateral security cooperation with Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China agreed on Thursday to develop a joint security strategy, following an incident where two Chinese nationals suffered gunshot wounds in an attack by a security guard at a factory in Karachi, an official statement said.
An unknown number of Chinese nationals work in Pakistan, primarily as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multibillion-dollar energy, infrastructure development, and regional connectivity initiative.
Chinese workers have increasingly come under attack in Pakistan in recent years, with notable incidents including a suicide bombing in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that killed five Chinese engineers in March 2024 and an October blast near Karachi’s airport that left two other Chinese nationals dead.
The latest shooting occurred earlier this week, when a Pakistani security guard opened fire at a factory in Karachi, wounding two Chinese employees.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong to discuss the situation and Pakistan’s response to the rising security risks faced by Chinese nationals.
“We fully agree with China’s vision of integrating development and security,” he was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office after the meeting. “Ensuring the safety of Chinese citizens and projects is our top priority. Those involved in the incident will be brought to justice.”
The interior ministry informed the two officials “agreed to develop a joint strategy to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Ambassador Jiang also underscored the need for a stable environment for ongoing bilateral cooperation and expressed his country’s readiness to strengthen bilateral security ties.
“China is ready to enhance bilateral security cooperation and build the capacities of Pakistani institutions,” he said.
Attacks on Chinese nationals have put the bilateral relations between both states under increasing stress, with the Chinese envoy previously calling such incidents “unacceptable” publicly.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally visited the Chinese embassy in Islamabad on Wednesday to offer sympathies to the families of the Chinese who got injured in the recent shooting incident.
Pakistan and China have been discussing to upgrade CPEC in recent months, hoping to launch yet another phase marked by enhanced business-to-business relationships and further Chinese investment in the country.
