ISLAMABAD; Pakistan and Russia have announced initiatives to enhance trade cooperation as Moscow aspires to expand its economic footprints in Asia and Islamabad is looking for energy supplies to meet its economic goals. The business community is hopeful that the upcoming visit of Pakistani premier to Moscow would open up new opportunities and benefit both sides.
“Pakistan provide an open route to Russia and access to markets in Middle East and Southeast Asia through the Arabian Sea,” Gohar Zia, director Maxtelz Logistics, told NEWSMAN “With free trade zones, at key locations and latest developments for bonded storage in at nodal points including, Islamabad, Karachi and Gwadar ports, Pakistan is on its way to become a hub for logistics and supply chain, which offers huge benefits to trading partners.”
Railway link would be crucial to boost connectivity and economic development, he said, citing the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) , which recently resumed operations after a decade. Zia urged the officials in Pakistan and Russia to consider the launch of a rail freight service connecting Moscow with Pakistan-through Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan over multimodal, which will cut transit time to 10 days instead 45 days via sea. Russian transportor can develop transit storage facilities using Pakistan bonded hubs. If at certain level Shipping lines from Russia starts operating from Pakistan will prove a game changers for Central Asian Countries, Gohar Zia concluded.