President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday said boosting trade with Kazakhstan and other Central Asian Republics (CARs) through Karachi and Gwadar was an important element of Pakistan’s ‘Vision Central Asia’ policy.
“There is a great potential for diversifying bilateral trade relations and entering into joint ventures in the fields of agriculture, IT, textile, energy, logistics, housing and construction,” he said while talking to Chairman of the Mazhilis (Lower House) of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Koshanov Yerlan Zhakanovich who led a delegation, here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
President Alvi said Pakistan and Kazakhstan enjoy fraternal brotherly relations rooted in a common heritage and social, cultural and religious values which need to be translated into meaningful business trade, investment and economic relations.
He mentioned that the Vision Central Asia policy focused on five elements, including political and diplomatic, trade and investment, energy and connectivity, security and defence, and people-to-people contacts.
He said the existing level of trade of US$219.12 million in 2021-22 needed to be substantially increased keeping in view the immense potential that existed between the two countries by building new and improving existing linkages through roads and railway networks, and through the sea.
The president expressed the hope that with the establishment of complete peace in Afghanistan, trade and investment between Kazakhstan and Pakistan would receive much-needed impetus and hoped that the current leadership in Afghanistan would succeed in establishing sustainable peace.
He hoped that Pakistan and Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Joint Commission (IJC) on trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation scheduled to be held in Islamabad on December 22-23, 2022 would take tangible decisions to further improve and cement the bilateral brotherly and fraternal relations.
