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GWADAR has long remained Pakistan’s geoeconomic dream.
Whenever officialdom thinks of extracting economic advantage from geopolitics, Gwadar is the first image that comes to mind. Yet the port has not realised its promised potential, and the adjoining economic zone still awaits investors.
Pakistan’s facilitation of the Tehran-Washington contact generated cautious optimism about a possible geoeconomic opening with Iran. Under the 2008 bilateral agreement on international road transport of passengers and goods, Pakistan has already offered Iran multiple trade routes, including Gwadar-Gabd, Karachi/Port Qasim-Ormara-Pasni-Gabd, Karachi/Port Qasim-Khuzdar-Dalbandin-Taftan, and extended corridors linking Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Quetta and Taftan. If used, these routes can reduce logistics costs and reconnect Makran with regional trade flows.
Soon after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Islamabad, the FBR introduced procedures allowing cross-stuffing of Iran-bound cargo at Pakistan’s seaports and off-dock terminals. The move is expected to benefit Gwadar, Makran and Pakistan’s border trade with Iran.
