Kazakh Ambassador to Pakistan, Yerzhan Kistafin, has said that the issues preventing trade between Pakistan and Kazakhstan, including a lack of connectivity, a lack of a visa regime, and inadequate logistical solutions, will be resolved soon. Speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said flights from Lahore and Karachi to Almaty will begin this year in an effort to improve economic relations. Under Kazakhstan's business-friendly visa policies, a businessman will now receive a visa in five days if he provides an LCCI letter along with their passport, he added.

He said that in order to increase regional connections, meetings with the National Logistics Cell (NLC) were held, and as a result, the NLC will now transport commodities between the two countries. He said that the Pakistani courier TCS had started offering insurance-backed deliveries as well.

The ambassador said that Kazakhstan is making a lot of effort to support entrepreneurs as they forge business-to-business ties. He said that Kazakhstan is also holding various events to encourage trade between the two countries. The sessions most likely to be held following the Islamic holy month of Ramadan are open to the LCCI president.

Additionally, he extended an invitation to the LCCI President to travel to Kazakhstan in charge of a delegation and witness for himself the country's enormous potential. His invitation was accepted by LCCI President Kashif Anwar, who pledged to organise a delegation's trip to Kazakhstan.

He said that improving trade ties with Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries is extremely important to Pakistan. The two countries, according to him, have close historical, religious, and political ties, "but we haven't yet been able to fully realise the potential of our current economic relationships to grow into significant trading partners."

He continued by pointing out the significance of Pakistan and Kazakhstan as members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Economic Cooperation Organization, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. According to the president of the LCCI, Pakistan has been maintaining a positive trade balance with Kazakhstan since its exports to Kazakhstan in 2020–21 were 80 million dollars, while its imports from Kazakhstan were just 2.5 million dollars.

As a result, the overall value of trade in 2020–21 was close to $82.5 million. According to Kashif Anwar, both imports and exports between the two countries improved in 2021–22. While imports increased to 58 million dollars, Pakistan's exports hit a record high of 108 million dollars, he said. Due to this, the value of bilateral trade has increased to 166 million dollars, nearly twice as much as in the previous fiscal year. To fully take advantage of the latent potential of bilateral trade, he stated, "We need to maintain this trend."

He continued by saying that the primary exports from Pakistan to Kazakhstan are fresh fruit, rice, and oil seeds, whereas the main imports from Kazakhstan are chemicals. He asserted that more tradeable goods should be discovered while taking into account the market demands in two economies in order to increase the amount of trade.

By connecting important cities in Kazakhstan like Almaty, Astana, and Shymkent with Lahore and Karachi, which are our country's commercial centres, the two countries may expand their collaboration. A strategic step in the correct direction may be joint ventures in the oil and gas and petrochemical sectors, he added.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk