Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin met with Farrukh Shahzad Rao, the CEO of the leading multimodal logistics company in Pakistan National Logistics Cell (NLC), QazMonitor reports citing primeminister.kz.
The meeting was held in continuation of Serik Zhumangarin's visit to Pakistan in December 2022 to attend the 11th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on the two countries' trade-economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation. At that time, the Kazakh side held meetings with large companies, representatives of Pakistan's seaports, and the NLC. The parties discussed issues of automobile transit through Afghanistan. At that time, the company assured it was ready to ensure transportation and delivery of goods from Pakistan to Kazakhstan and back by the shortest route.
Now, the parties met in Astana to exchange views and initiatives on developing trade and logistics opportunities between Kazakhstan and Pakistan.
As Serik Zhumangarin noted at the meeting, Pakistan is an important trading partner for Kazakhstan in South Asia. There is excellent potential in supplying the Pakistani market with 80 processed goods of various industries worth $411.9 million.
Expansion of cooperation in the field of transportation and logistics plays a key role in intensifying our partnership relations. Ports of Pakistan - Gwadar, Karachi, and Qasim are of great interest to us both to promote exports of Kazakhstani products to the markets of Pakistan and South Asia and to increase the attractiveness of the transit potential of our countries to access export markets in South Asia.
Deputy Prime Minister proposed to consider options for organizing mutual supplies by land routes through Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan using seaports through the Middle Corridor (TMTM), the territory of Iran or China. And by road transportation via the Karakoram highway through Kyrgyzstan, China, and further to Pakistan.
Members of the Pakistani delegation also confirmed their desire to intensify cooperation between the two countries, stating their readiness to provide recommendations and specific proposals on logistics.
At the end of the meeting, Serik Zhumangarin invited Pakistani businesses to participate in the Kazakhstan-Afghanistan Business Forum, which will be held for the first time in Astana in early August.
National Logistics Cell (NLC) is Pakistan's leading multimodal logistics company. NLC provides a continuous logistics cycle through an ERP-enabled fleet management system handling the majority of domestic and regional cargo. NLC utilizes multimodal modes of transportation, including road, rail, sea, and air. A network of dry ports and warehouses in major trading centers and port cities in Pakistan complements NLC's capabilities.
