Islamabad (TDI): As the visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Pakistan unfolded, a number of sidelines meetings between ministers of both countries also took place. One such meeting was between Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Kazakhstan’s Trade Minister Arman Shaqqaliev.
The meeting focused extensively on addressing connectivity challenges between Pakistan and Central Asia and identifying practical solutions to unlock the full trade potential between the two countries.
Both ministers agreed that improved rail, road and multimodal connectivity is fundamental to strengthening Pakistan–Kazakhstan trade and enabling sustainable, long-term economic engagement.
The Kazakh Minister highlighted the strategic importance of developing major infrastructure projects, particularly railway and road corridors, noting that such initiatives can generate trade and investment flows worth approximately $5 billion while creating employment opportunities and supporting regional supply chains.
He emphasized Kazakhstan’s vision of becoming a regional hub connecting Central Asia with South Asia, China, Europe and the Global South, including Pakistan’s ports.
Minister Jam Kamal Khan underscored Pakistan’s strong interest in enhancing direct connectivity with Central Asia through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, while acknowledging regional and geopolitical challenges.
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He stressed that improved transit routes would not only benefit Pakistan and Kazakhstan but also open broader opportunities for regional and global trade, including access to African and ASEAN markets through Pakistan’s ports.
Both ministers discussed cooperation in priority sectors, including agriculture and food security, pharmaceuticals, textiles, sports goods, leather products, mining and minerals, energy, and infrastructure development.
The Kazakh side expressed interest in joint ventures, particularly in food processing, agriculture value chains and pharmaceuticals, while Pakistan invited Kazakh investment in mining, minerals and agri-based industries under Pakistan’s investment facilitation framework.
The meeting also reviewed the need for structured business-to-business (B2B) engagement. Both sides agreed that trade promotion bodies should play a facilitative role by connecting businesses, sharing market intelligence and supporting matchmaking, without creating regulatory bottlenecks.
In this context, it was agreed to work towards finalizing a framework document outlining priority sectors, trade targets and a roadmap of activities, including trade missions, exhibitions and exchange of delegations.
