Pakistan Agrees To Settle Soviet-Era Trade Dispute With Russia In Hope Of Attracting Investment

Pakistan has finally decided to pay Russia $117 million to end a 39-year trade dispute, which Islamabad hopes will result in Moscow investing over $8 billion in the cash-strapped country, reports India Today.

This trade dispute goes back to the days of the Soviet Union and several unsuccessful efforts have been made in the past to end the dispute.

According to a report in The Express Tribune, Pakistan will return USD 93.5 million to Russia within 90 days of the signing of the agreement and clear pending exporters' claims amounting up to USD 23.8 million as per the settlement agreements reached in 2016-17.

It was the Nawaz Sharif government that started the process of resolving the trade disput and now PM Imran Khan-led government has decided to execute it, the report said.

The Pakistan government has authorised its ambassador to Russia to sign the deal and now it hopes that this will lead to enhanced bilateral political, economic and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The report claimed that Russia has conveyed to Pakistan that it would invest $8 billion in Pakistan's energy sector and the Pakistan Steel Mills. But according to Russian law, it cannot invest in countries with which it has disputes.