ISLAMABAD, Sep 22 (DNA): A business delegation of Kazakhstan led by
Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Kazakhstan visited Islamabad Chamber of
Commerce and Industry on Friday.
During the visit, the Kazakhstan delegation showed interest to explore
business and investment opportunities in Pakistan, a press statement
said here today.
The delegation was representing food & beverages, oil & gas, minerals,
precious stones, fertilizers, chemicals, textiles, autoparts, wholesale
and retail sectors.
Speaking on the occasion, Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Kazakhstan
said that his country wants to further strengthen trade relations with
Pakistan as both countries have good potential to do 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 promote business relations between the two countries. He
said that the President of Kazakhstan is scheduled to visit Pakistan in
the near future that would further strengthen trade and economic
relations between the two countries.
Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce &
Industry said that both countries should set at least US$ 1 billion
bilateral trade target as the current level of trade is not matching
with their actual potential.
He said that Kazakhstan is a big landlocked country and Pakistani ports
provide it the shortest route through 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 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.
Yessentayev Arman, Head of Kazakh delegation 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
market 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.
Engr. Azhar ul Islam Zafar, Vice President ICCI said that both countries
should sign a transit trade agreement to provide a legal framework to
the private sectors for trade promotion. He said that Pakistan can also
get easy access to Central Asian markets by developing close cooperation
with Kazakhstan. DNA
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