ISLAMABAD: Some 50-55 Pakistani business delegates will reach Moscow on Monday (today) for making business-to-business (BtB) trade deals in various sectors of the economy.
Federal Minister for Petroleum Division Musadik Malik, who is already there to attend the Russian Energy Week, will lead the country’s business delegates in meetings with Russian counterparts.
“The interactions between Pakistan and Russian businessmen would continue for three days, starting from Sept 30 and ending on Oct 2, 2024. The commerce ministry, with the help of Board of Investment and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan is organising a business forum for BtB in Russia on October 1, 2024,” senior officials told The News.
Officials said: “Pakistani businessmen would not only strengthen their networking with Russian entrepreneurs, but also explore avenues for business deals for increasing the bilateral trade with Russia.
“Many high-ranking officials of the commerce ministry and a reasonable number of important business tycoons have already arrived there and many will arrive today (Monday). The country’s major business groups representing textile, leather, sports, surgical, carpets, light engineering goods, logistics, food and agriculture including vegetables and fruits, and tour operators would interact with Russian counterparts and enter into BtB deals.”
However, the main challenge for Pakistani businessmen remains how to execute trade deals through banking channels amid the SWIFT sanctions on some Russian companies. However, India, the UAE and China are already engaged in trade with Russia in a big way despite the SWIFT curbs and earning profits. To overcome the hiccups in smooth transactions, there are some proposals under which more licences are to be issued to Chinese banks in Pakistan, which would facilitate Pakistan’s trade with Russia.
More importantly, the relationship of Pakistani banks with non-sanctioned Russian banks would be established. And in case Pakistan becomes a member of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates), then trade with Russia being part of BRICS would be easier. Apart from the said proposals, for smooth trade with Russia, direct shipping line between St. Petersburg and Karachi could be considered and use of land route via Iran, Afghanistan and China could also be considered.
Pakistani businessmen want initiation of trade with Russia on BtB mode arguing when business communities of China, the UAE and India were doing business with Russia, why not Pakistanis. Pakistan traders say that there was a huge potential in Russia’s big market for Pakistani products that needs to be explored.
In 2022, Pakistan exported $75.8 million products to Russia. The main products that Pakistan exported to Russia were citrus ($16.8 million), leather apparel ($10.5 million), and medical instruments ($5.37 million). Over the past five years, exports of Pakistan to Russia have decreased at an annualised rate of 20.5pc, from $239 million in 2017 to $75.8 million in 2022. However, in the same year, Pakistan’s GDP size was at $377 billion, whereas Russia’s $2.24 trillion in 2022. Russia’s exports to Pakistan stood at $505 million with its top item export of wheat of $278 million. In 2022, countries that imported more from Pakistan than Russia included Afghanistan ($975m), Bangladesh ($839m) and Saudi Arabia ($507m).
In 2022, countries that imported from Russia included China ($101bn), India ($40.4bn) and Germany ($27.7bn).