ISLAMABAD: Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Yerzhan Kistafin has said that Pakistan is keenly interested in importing energy resources from Kazakhstan.
In an interview with foreign media, the Ambassador said that they regularly receive requests from their Pakistani friends for Kazakh oil, petroleum, and coal products, and gas.
The envoy said that they are also closely observing the development of regional projects including TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) and CASA-1000. He added that the development of collaboration between Kazakhstan and Pakistan is greatly influenced by regional situation.
He said “To deliver goods between our nations, we need to cross at least two other states in the region, such as Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, or even Tajikistan or China. Our current task is to develop adequate transport and logistics infrastructure in order to ensure timely and efficient delivery of products, including energy resources.”
About transport cooperation, he emphasized the significance of joining forces with top-notch Pakistani logistics companies.
“In May, we had completed our first multimodal shipment from Kazakhstan to Dubai through the Karachi seaport in Pakistan. This target was achieved in close partnership with NLC. Our next project, in collaboration with TCS, involved transporting pharmaceutical items from Karachi to Baku through the Aktau seaport in Kazakhstan,” the Ambassador said.
He also highlighted that these pilot projects also demonstrated the viability of the Trans-Afghan and Trans-Pakistan routes. He also noted that Pakistan and Kazakhstan could not only serve as destination points but also develop transit logistics.
“Through Pakistan, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan could access markets in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia,” the Ambassador concluded.
