KARACHI: Officials from Pakistan and Kazakhstan discussed joint venture opportunities to enhance bilateral trade through the Karachi and Gwadar seaports, Pakistan’s maritime affairs ministry said on Tuesday amid Islamabad’s push to enhance its role as a regional transit hub.
Pakistan has recently sought to leverage its strategic location to connect landlocked Central Asian states to Asia. Islamabad is pursuing a “Vision Central Asia” policy based on improving bilateral cooperation in politics, trade, investment, energy and connectivity, security and people-to-people contact with Central Asian Republics.
Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry met Kazakh Ambassador Yerzhan Kistafin in Islamabad, with the two sides expressing interest in promoting bilateral cooperation, the Pakistani ministry said.
“Minister Chaudhry suggested initiating joint ventures at the Karachi and Gwadar ports, highlighting potential partnerships within Gwadar’s free zones,” the maritime affairs ministry said in a statement. “These efforts are intended to utilize Pakistan’s strategic port infrastructure to enhance trade access for Kazakhstan, a landlocked nation seeking wider maritime connectivity.”
