ISLAMABAD: Pakistan-Russia Investment Forum will take place here on Thursday to explore areas for increasing bilateral trade and Russian investment in Pakistan.

A 60-member Russian delegation, comprising private sector investors, will attend the forum which will be led by Victor Ivanov, the head of Federal Services for Drug Control.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will lead the Pakistan delegation at the talks which would focus investment opportunities in water and power, petroleum and natural resources, food security, agricultural research, trade and technical cooperation.

The Board of Investment is hosting the forum, and it expects that various ministries will make presentations for investments in the field of power, petroleum and natural resources, agriculture, industries and communications.

The Russian investors will also have business-to-business meetings.

The Russian companies have already expressed their interest in entering Pakistani energy market. They are, particularly engaged in negotiations on the project of conversion of the Muzaffargarh power house to the coal-fired station.

The two countries are engaged in negotiations to proceed from framework cooperation agreements to business contracts.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2015