Islamabad:
Pakistan and Kazakhstan are likely to sign an access agreement to the port of Gwadar during the visit of the president of Kazakhstan in November of this year.
Sources told L’Express PK Press Club that a high -level delegation in Kazakhstan should be planned in Islamabad in the second week of September to finalize the provisions of an agreement on access to the port of Gwadar at the Central Asian States. They said Kazakhstan intended to create a terminal of goods at the port of Karachi for exports to the member countries of the European Union and the United States.
However, Pakistan would like to see Kazakhstan establish a terminal at the port of Gwadar. During the next dialogue between the two countries, those responsible will also explore the prospects of forging road and rail links. Pakistan wants to form a consortium with the Central Asian states to develop the maritime sector.
Meanwhile, according to a statement, a key meeting took place between the Kazakhstan ambassador, Yerzhan Kistafin, and the Federal Minister of Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Tuesday. The two parties have shown a strong interest in expanding cooperation in the maritime sector.
The federal minister suggested launching joint ventures in the ports of Karachi and Gwadar and underlined the potential for training partnerships in the free area of Gwadar. These efforts are intended to use Pakistan’s strategic port infrastructure to improve commercial access to Kazakhstan, a landlocked nation looking for wider maritime connectivity.
The ambassador welcomed initiatives, saying that Kazakhstan was impatient to use the Pakistani ports as transit centers not only for Astana but also for the wider region of Asia in Central Asia. He shared that a ministerial level delegation, led by the Kazakhstan Minister of Communication who also supervises maritime affairs, was soon to come to Pakistan. He will hold in -depth discussions to explore additional cooperation in maritime trade and logistics.
The federal minister described the essential role of Pakistani ports as a walkway offering access to Kazakhstan and other Nations of Central Asia with ancestry in the Persian Gulf markets, Africa and Southeast Asia. He stressed the dedication of the maritime sector to become a regional shopping center by adopting innovative approaches and strengthening international partnerships.
The next visit to the Kazakh delegation should accelerate the progress of joint ventures and the facilitation of exchanges and strengthen links thanks to the development of maritime infrastructure, logistics and blue economy.
