MOSCOW (Shahid Ghumman): Preparations are under way in Moscow for the Pakistan-Russia Business Forum and direct trade meetings between businesses of the two countries, in connection with the expected visit of Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to Russia in the first week of December. Two detailed lists related to the Trade Wing of the Pakistani Embassy have come to light, containing details of 169 delegates of 148 Pakistani companies and information on inviting Russian businesses for B2B meetings.
According to documents available with Voice of Russia, the list of Pakistani companies contains details of the names of businesses, the responsibilities of delegates, the relevant industries and export performance, while the list of Russian companies contains the names of institutions, business sectors and relevant contact persons.
During Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s expected visit to Moscow, a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and talks on bilateral economic cooperation are also expected. According to recent reports in Pakistani media, a large business delegation is likely to accompany the prime minister to Russia, and a joint business forum programme in Moscow is also under consideration.
Sector-wise details of Pakistan’s 148 companies
In the verified list of Pakistani companies, textiles and leather have the largest representation, with 59 companies included. There are 23 agricultural and food products companies, 15 tourism, 13 sports goods, 10 cutlery, 6 minerals, 5 logistics, 5 surgical instruments, 4 information technology, two each from automotive, metals and plastics industries, and one each from pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Pakistani business figures from textiles and leather
The Pakistani list includes Muhammad Yusuf Asif, Chief Executive of Mercury Pakistan Private Limited; Shahid Hassan Sheikh, Managing Director of Lahore Carpet Manufacturing Company; Junaid Ikram, Director of Fine Garments Industries; Masood Naqi, Director of Rajbi Industries; Ijaz Khokhar, Managing Director of Ashraf Industries; and Muhammad Bilal Ahmed, Chief Executive of Bilal Apparel.
Also in this sector are Abrar Hussain of Kobeja Industries, Abdullah Shahid of Iman Home Textile, Javed Ahmed Khan of AJ Associates and Muhammad Noman Usman of Taiga Apparel.
Other business names include Ikram-ul-Haq of Zainab & Company, Muhammad Talha of Samina International, Syed Tanzeem A. Kazmi of STA Leather Products, Faraz Alam of Fateh Industries, Jia N. Sadiq of J&S Timeless Leather, Hassan Ali Bhatti of Hassan ZB International and Kashif Sohail of Sohail Leather Company.
The list also contains the names of Muhammad Amjad Hussain of Sapphire Fibres, Asad Ayub Khan of Vintage Wear, Waqas Afzal of W Brothers and Ghazala Abrar of Bearpa Products International.
Representatives of major Russian textile and retail companies
The Russian invitation list includes Liza Lim of the well-known garments brand Gloria Jeans, Dmitry Vakulenko of O’stin, Mikhail Safarov of X5 Group and Pierre Cardelli of Auchan.
Similarly, Natalia Volkova of Gapfil, Nasruddin Mahmudov of Karavan Kovrov, Yakov Panchenko of Stockmann, Alexey Berezin of Boni Stroye, Olga Stilmakh of Logsnab and Madina Sabirzhan of Madina are also included in the list.
Possible business meetings with Russian companies may discuss prospects of increasing exports of Pakistani ready-made garments, denim, home textiles, carpets and leather products.
Food products, rice, fruit and vegetables
The Pakistani list includes 23 companies related to agriculture and food products. Among them are Adil Mahmood of FR International, Muhammad Imran Khan of MS Taj International, Muhammad Umair Arshad of Sadiq Gelatin Industries, Aamir Ali Gaba of Aqua Pearl, Ahmed Gul Kakar of Gul Brothers and Taimur Akbar of Khadim Industry.
Among Russian companies are Alexander Belyashov of Grand Trade, Asif Ali Khashmi of IP Khashmi, Samuel Baghdasaryan of Astara Agrotrading, Andrey Kozin of STL, Alexander Dobritsky of Invest Apat and Igor Sviridenko of the Russian Union of Flour Milling and Cereal Enterprises.
In addition, Muhammad Zmad Khan of Bel Pak Trading House, Vera Pavlova of Vostok Zapad, Alexey Shishkin of Mar Rossia, Victoria Babayan of Chernogolovka, Anastasia Sokolova of Tulskaya Niva, Maxim Chekov of Agro Export and Ruslan Sabirov of Baraka are also included in the list.
Names of representatives related to Russian supermarket chains X5 Group, Lenta, Globus and Fresh Market also appear in various food sectors.
Seafood and Pakistani pink salt
In frozen fish and seafood, the names of Denis Kheldman of More Odor, Vladimir Gorbachev of Toliman, Timur Yefimov of Integrity Group, Stanislav Chernikhovsky of Fortune, Denis Baikin of Trade House Magnitogorsk and Valery Demenyuk of Pechinega are listed.
Lyudmila Tursunova of Astara Agrotrading and Anastasia Bolga of Khadim Industry are also included in the Russian list for business contacts related to Pakistani pink salt.
Sports goods industry
Among Pakistani companies, the names of business delegates including Saad Asif Soni of Sonico Private Limited, Arsalan Sheikh of Sunny Industries, Jawad Khalid of RK Industries and Muhammad Bilal of Troy Sports are listed.
In the invitation details of Russian businesses, the names of Tatiana Klimina of Sportmaster, Abdul Rahman of Sting, Natalia Kislyakova of Sport Products, Muhammad Arshad Butt of Milad Impex, Ekaterina Melnikova of Prime Sport, Adil Mansoor Arain of TD Arians and Konstantin Kozlov of Tokido Shop have come to light.
Surgical instruments and medicines
Five companies from Pakistan’s surgical instruments industry are in the verified list, while the Russian invitation details include Alexander Shestakov of Shanz, Maxim Prokhorov of VIT, Waseem Abbas of Cut Well Professional, Muhammad Arif of Beauty Instrument and Alexandra Shenina of Elta.
In pharmaceuticals, the names of Iftikhar Sarwar of Artex, Nikita Nikolaev of Selsus, Daria Tarasova of Intersen Plus, Alexander Solovyov of Argentum Laboratory and Olga Korneyeva of Pharmstandard are also present in the business contact details.
Logistics and international transport
The Pakistani list includes five logistics companies, among them Momentum Logistics, whose Chief Executive is Iftikhar H. Butt.
The Russian invitation list contains the names of Sergey Sidorov of FESCO, Shamil Murtazaliev of Sim Invest, Natalia Sadchikova of ETE, Denis Kalnov of GTEL, Natalia Grossman of the Bureau of Customs Services, Viktor Neshkov of Aviatik Service and Sergey Koutinev of MBFS.
For increasing trade volume between Pakistan and Russia, practical cooperation on sea routes, railway links, customs clearance, delivery costs and payment systems is important.
Information technology and modern services
Among Pakistan’s IT companies are Abdul Haseeb of TMC Private Limited, Muhammad Shamoon Haider of Cyberd, Muhammad Salman Nasir of About Digital and Khakan Ali of Alpha Ridges.
Among Russian companies are Mikael Pirjanyan of Cyberus Foundation, Anna Moroz of Skolkovo, Zhana Poltavits of Lithosphere, Alexey Rogatnev of Nex Touch, Igor Yatsenko of Nika Soft, Timofey Matrinitsky of Aktiv Soft, Oleg Arseniev of IT Global, Maxim Ryzhov of Agro Connect and Mikhail Okonev of ITF Consulting.
Tourism and public relations
The Pakistani list includes 15 tourism companies, among them Zeeshan Ahmed of Hunza Guides Pakistan Tracking and Tours.
From the Russian side, the names of Arthur Muradyan of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, Ekaterina Belova of Trace T, Vera Goncharenko of Intourist, Dmitry Arutyunov of Art Tour, Ishtiaq Hamdani and Hamid Ali Masood of Al-Qasim Community Hall and Guest House Rawalakot are listed.
New possibilities in Pak-Russia trade
The lists of Pakistani and Russian companies show that the proposed business forum gives importance not only to traditional imports and exports but also to possibilities in technology, tourism, transport, industrial cooperation and joint business ventures.
The business contact lists prepared by the Trade Wing of the Pakistani Embassy provide a possible platform for direct negotiations for companies of both countries.
However, the status of the verified list of Pakistani companies and the invitation list of Russian companies is different. Final confirmation of the arrival in Moscow of all persons listed, their inclusion in the prime minister’s official delegation or the signing of any trade agreement has not yet come to light.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s expected visit to Russia and the Pakistan-Russia Business Forum in Moscow could prove an important opportunity to further expand economic relations, investment and business cooperation between the two countries.
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