Pakistan to sign free trade agreement with Eurasian Economic Union

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. Islamabad will sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), this process could take from few months to two years, Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Faisal Niaz Tirmizi told TASS in an interview.

"We have already launched this process [to create a free trade zone] with the Eurasian Economic Union, as Pakistan is a natural partner in the North-South Transport Corridor. I can see a day in the near future when people from Murmansk, Minsk, and Moscow will be able to travel to Islamabad, Karachi, or Gwadar through all the countries [along the corridor]. Pakistan strongly believes that as part of the Eurasian region, it has to have more people-to-people and business-to-business contacts with all the countries [of the EAEU]," the Pakistani diplomat noted.

"We have already started the process. There has been communication between Pakistan's Commerce Minister and the head of the Eurasian Economic Union. We will be able to reach a [free trade] agreement. "It might take from few months to a year or two, but no more than that," he added.

He noted that there are many things Pakistan could take from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan.

"There are so many things that Pakistan can provide to this region," the ambassador went on. "We can be a part of each other's economic and food security. This is exactly the kind of connectivity we are working on, because we believe that ultimately, people-to-people contacts, economic, business, and cultural ties provide real security, peace, and integration in the region".