Pakistan, Belarus to expand cooperation in trade, IT, vocational training

Pakistan and Belarus have pledged to widen their partnership across five priority areas: trade, industry, farming, information technology and skills training. Mettis Global reported, citing an official press release, that the commitment came out of talks between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. The meeting took place in Bishkek on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Heads of State gathering.

Both leaders welcomed the upward direction of bilateral ties, which they said already reach into politics, commerce, the economy, defence and culture. They cited Lukashenko's November 2024 journey to Pakistan and Sharif's April 2025 trip to Belarus as turning points. Sharif, the incoming SCO council chair, invited the Belarusian president to visit Pakistan next year.

Pakistan formally took over the SCO chairmanship for 2026 to 2027, under the theme Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity. The next SCO Plus meeting is set for Islamabad in 2027.