PAKISTAN and Kazakhstan are reportedly planning to sign a Transit Trade Agreement (TTA) to provide a legal framework for businesses alongside cooperation in the banking cooperation. Kazakh Ambassador to Pakistan Yerzhan Kistafin shared this while talking to businessmen at Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
This indeed will be an important initiative and open a lot of avenues of cooperation between Pakistan and Kazakhstan as well as other land locked Central Asian States (CARs). In recent years, one has seen an enhanced level of engagement between Pakistan and CARs with the former offering the latter to use its ports for trade purposes. There is no denying that Pakistan provides the most economical route to the CARs to carry out trade with rest of the world. We believe transit trade agreement will be a first major step in that direction allowing Central Asian States to use Pakistani ports including Karachi and Gwadar. This is going to be a win-win not only for Pakistan and Kazakhstan but also for Afghanistan as the goods will pass through it. There is also dire need that both Pakistan and Kazakhstan also remove barriers in their trade and economic relations. The focus must be on extending maximum facilitation to businesses of both sides.
According to the Kazakh Ambassador, direct flights will soon be started between Pakistani cities of Lahore and Karachi and Kazakhstan’s city Almaty. Of course, this will promote people to people contacts and linkages besides trade. But we believe that road and rail connectivity between the two countries is of much importance to exploit true potential of cooperation. In this regard, completion of Trans-Afghan rail project can yield desired results. Kazakhstan has repeatedly shown keen interest in this project. We will suggest that Pakistan, Afghanistan and the CARs sit together and finalise the roadmap for its completion in minimum possible time. This connectivity project will bring a revolution and change the whole landscape of the region through enhanced economic activities.
