During his official visit to Islamabad, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Marat Nurtleu held a series of meetings with the management of the largest Pakistani companies, Kazinform correspondent reports.
During the talks, special attention was paid to the development of cooperation in key sectors such as trade, logistics, finance, information technologies, agriculture and the food industry.
Of the three leading companies with which the meetings were held, two - National Logistics Corporation and TCS Logistics - specialize in logistics.
Since the beginning of this year, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Pakistan has increased 2.5 times, reaching 86 million USD. Today, Kazakhstan exports vegetables, legumes, onions, garlic, oats, buckwheat, millet and other cereals, as well as ferrous metal products for Pakistan. In turn, citrus fruits, medicines, men's and women's clothing, food products and potatoes are supplied from Pakistan to Kazakhstan.
According to both countries, the potential for increasing bilateral trade exceeds 1 billion USD.
"Our main goal is to increase the volume of trade to 1 billion USD. It is obvious that transport routes and infrastructure corridors remain the main barrier to trade. Today, Kazakhstan is becoming a major transport and logistics center, which creates opportunities not only for deliveries to the domestic market, but also for transit of goods to neighboring countries. For example, TCS Logistics delivers products through Afghanistan to Uzbekistan. These products can be reloaded on the railway in Saryagash. In the off-season, we purchase early potatoes, fruits, berries and other food products from Pakistan. We have suggested to our Pakistani partners to consider the possibility of opening a trade and wholesale center in Almaty. As I have already noted, Kazakhstan is a strategic opportunity for Pakistan: from here they can export products not only to our country, but also to China, Russia and other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. In turn, Pakistan can become our key partner in the implementation of the South-North transport corridor project," said Arman Shakkaliev, Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in an interview with the agency.
Pakistani entrepreneurs also emphasized that Kazakhstan is a key logistics gateway that opens access to the markets of Central Asia, Russia, Europe and China. Pakistan, in turn, provides Kazakhstan with access to land trade with Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
"Kazakhstan and Pakistan have every reason to expand business cooperation. Global geopolitical changes and the transformation of trade models open up new opportunities for business, especially in logistics: new routes and new partnerships are emerging. The economies of our countries complement each other perfectly in many areas. For example, in agriculture: Kazakhstan has large areas of arable land, but the sowing season is short, which is why the volumes of agricultural products are limited. In Pakistan, on the contrary, agricultural production is much higher. We are ready to supply the Kazakh market with a wide range of fruits and vegetables produced in Pakistan. This will provide Kazakh supermarkets and markets with a stable supply of fresh and high-quality products, - said the head of TCS Logistics H. Awan.
Particular attention during the visit was paid to negotiations with one of the largest Pakistani corporations - the “Fauji“ Foundation, which owns 29 subsidiaries operating in areas such as energy, oil and gas industry, and fertilizer production. Representatives of the fund expressed their readiness to invest in the economy of Kazakhstan in the amount of 1.1 billion USD.
"We are one of the largest business conglomerates in Pakistan. Today we presented to the Kazakh side our key areas of activity and identified promising areas for joint work. Companies operating in the oil, gas and fertilizer industries have already begun practical cooperation. In the near future, our bank “Askari“ plans to establish a partnership with one of the Kazakh banks to service business payments. The delegation from Kazakhstan demonstrated a high degree of openness and interest. We discussed a wide range of issues - from the food industry to mining and digitalization, - said Irfan Khan, Secretary of the Administrative Committee of the “Fauji“ Foundation.
Today, over 240 enterprises with Pakistani capital operate in Kazakhstan. There is also an official trade mission of Pakistan in Almaty.
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