Kazakh President to visit Pakistan for strengthening economic ties: Ambassador

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Kistafin has said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is scheduled to visit Pakistan in the near future to further strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations.

A business delegation of Kazakhstan led by Ambassador of Kazakhstan Mr Yerzhan Kistafin, visited the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and showed interest in exploring business and investment opportunities in Pakistan,

The delegation represented food and beverages, oil and gas, minerals, precious stones, fertilizers, chemicals, textiles, auto parts, wholesale and retail sectors.

Speaking on the occasion, the Kazakh ambassador said that his country wants to further strengthen trade relations with Pakistan as both countries have good potential for trade in many items.

He said that last year, a trade delegation of Kazakhstan was organized to Pakistan and hoped that the visit of another Kazakh delegation would contribute to promoting business relations between the two countries.

ICCI President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari said both countries should set at least US$1 billion bilateral trade target as the current level of trade does not match actual potential. He said that Kazakhstan is a big landlocked country and Pakistani ports provide it the shortest route through the Arabian Sea to access other markets.

Pakistan and Kazakhstan can cooperate in many fields including construction, agriculture, energy, textiles, pharmaceuticals, food items, engineering equipment, machinery, banking & finance, he added.

He said both countries should explore road and railway links that would boost trade and economic relations between them. He said that ICCI is planning a delegation to Kazakhstan to explore new avenues of business partnerships increasing bilateral trade ties between the two countries.

Head of Kazakh delegation Yessentayev Arman said that Pakistan is a huge market for business and investment and they have come to explore business opportunities in many sectors in Pakistan including oil & gas, surgical instruments, juices, textiles, rice, sugar, fertilizers, and others.

He said that both countries should open bank branches in each other’s markets that would facilitate bilateral trade promotion. He said that there is a lack of information in private sectors of both countries about potential areas of business cooperation and hoped that their visit to Pakistan would bridge this gap.

ICCI Vice President Azhar-ul-Islam Zafar said that both countries should sign a transit trade agreement to provide a legal framework to the private sector for trade promotion. He said that Pakistan can also get easy access to Central Asian markets by developing close cooperation with Kazakhstan.

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