ISLAMABAD: Kazakhstan has been asked to take advantage of the advantageous investment prospects that Pakistan is offering under the framework of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), according to Pakistan’s ambassador to Kazakhstan, Nauman Bashir Bhatti, who made this announcement on Friday.
“It is important to note that Pakistan has opened up priority industries to investment and formed a SIFC. We have extended an invitation to Kazakhstan to take advantage of the advantageous investment prospects provided under the SIFC framework,” he stated in response to a query during an interview with the global news outlet “Kazinform.”
The envoy emphasized Pakistan’s advantageous location by pointing out that his nation offered Kazakhstan’s shortest path to the Arabian Sea. Pakistan is still eager to improve its ties with Kazakhstan in a variety of contexts and avenues.
In answer to another query, he concurred that the Karakoram Highway, which passes through China and Kyrgyzstan, was the most direct and affordable path for connection and the movement of products between Pakistan and Kazakhstan.
It is sometimes referred to as the QTTA Route, or the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement between China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan. This route allows goods to be carried directly from Karachi, Pakistan, to Almaty, Kazakhstan, and back, without requiring a change of trucks, using containers and trucks.”
It is the most cost-effective, dependable, and safest route, according to Ambassador Nauman. Unfortunately, because of the Khunjerab Pass’s four-month winter shutdown, the path is currently unusable.
He stated that China and Pakistan had just decided to work together to maintain the Karakoram Highway, which is a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), open all year round. It will improve Pakistan’s connectivity with Kazakhstan as well as China. As a result, we must endeavor to increase the QTTA’s effectiveness.”
The ambassador also spoke on the Afghanistan-Uzbekistan line, saying that a rail network connecting the two nations would be greatly enhanced if the Intra Afghan Rail Network was fully realized.
He said that although trade between Pakistan and Kazakhstan has been growing, it is still far short of its potential in response to another query. “It can be significantly increased.”
As a result of improved security and political conditions in Afghanistan as well as the start of Pakistan’s National Logistics Company’s operations to transport goods from Afghanistan to Kazakhstan through China, the ambassador said, “we witnessed a significant surge in our bilateral trade volume between July and November 2023.”
He stated that a number of topics have lately been discussed, including collaboration in many areas of the Trans-Afghan Railway connectivity plan. “The two sides are currently looking into different aspects of cooperation in the transport sector, and I am hopeful that we are going to forge stronger bilateral ties in this sector.”
Ambassador Nauman stated that Pakistan was manufacturing and exporting top-notch surgical devices to other countries, and that Pakistan was willing to share its experience in this area for cooperative partnerships.
He stated that at the moment, Pakistan exports rice, tarpaulins, dates, figs, mangoes, oranges, and other citrus fruits to Kazakhstan, along with a variety of pharmaceutical and medical products.
The envoy added that unwrought zinc sulphur, cotton yarn, minerals, and dry legumes like peas and chickpeas were among Kazakhstan’s imports.
