Kazakhstan, Pakistan eye $1B trade turnover
As part of his official visit to Islamabad, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu held a series of meetings with executives of leading Pakistani companies, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
During talks, a focus was placed on expanding cooperation in key sectors such as trade, logistics, finance, information technology, agriculture, and food production. Of the three major companies that met with the Kazakh delegation, two — National Logistics Corporation and TCS Logistics — operate in the logistics sector.
Since the beginning of this year, trade between Kazakhstan and Pakistan has grown 2.5 times, reaching 86 million US dollars. Kazakhstan currently exports vegetables, legumes, onions, garlic, oats, buckwheat, millet, other grains, and ferrous metal products to Pakistan, while imports from Pakistan include citrus fruits, pharmaceuticals, clothing, food products, and potatoes.
It was highlighted that both sides agree that the potential for bilateral trade exceeds $1 billion.
Our main goal is to bring trade turnover to $1 billion. The key challenge remains transport routes and infrastructure corridors. Kazakhstan is transforming into a major transport and logistics hub, creating opportunities not only for domestic supply but also for transit to neighboring countries. For example, TCS Logistics delivers goods through Afghanistan to Uzbekistan, which can be transferred to the railway in Saryagash.
We proposed that Pakistani partners consider opening a wholesale trade center in Almaty. Kazakhstan represents a strategic opportunity for Pakistan: from here, they can export not only to our country but also to China, Russia, and other Eurasian Economic Union countries. In turn, Pakistan can become our key partner in the North–South Transport Corridor project, said Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev in an interview.
Pakistani business leaders highlighted that Kazakhstan serves as a vital logistics gateway to Central Asia, Russia, Europe, and China, while Pakistan offers Kazakhstan access to land trade with Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Kazakhstan and Pakistan have every reason to expand business cooperation. Global geopolitical shifts and the transformation of trade models are offering new opportunities, especially in logistics, with new routes and partnerships emerging. Our economies complement each other in many areas. In agriculture, for example, Kazakhstan has vast arable land but a short growing season, which limits output. In contrast, Pakistan’s agricultural production is much higher. We are ready to supply a wide range of fruits and vegetables to the Kazakhstani market, said TCS Logistics Chairman Khalid Nawaz Awan.
A special focus of the visit was talks with the Fauji Foundation, one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates, which owns 29 subsidiaries in sectors including energy, oil and gas, and fertilizer production, which expressed its readiness to invest 1.1 billion US dollars in Kazakhstan’s economy.
Askari Bank, which is part of Fauji Foundation, plans to establish a partnership with a Kazakhstani bank to handle business transactions. Kazakhstan’s delegation demonstrated a high level of openness and interest. We discussed a wide range of issues — from food supply to mining and digitalization, said Irfan Khan, Secretary of the Administration Committee at the Fauji Foundation.
More than 240 enterprises with Pakistani capital currently operate in Kazakhstan, and the Kazakh city of Almaty hosts Pakistan’s trade mission.
Earlier, it was reported Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, for an official visit.
