Kazakhstan keen to explore investment prospects in Pakistan: Ambassador Yerzhan Kistafin
Celina Ali
Islamabad: A business delegation of Kazakhstan led by Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Kazakhstan visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry this week.
During the visit, the Kazakhstan delegation showed interest to explore business and investment opportunities in Pakistan, a statement issued here said.
The delegation was representing food & beverages, oil & gas, minerals, precious stones, fertilizers, chemicals, textiles, autoparts, wholesale and retail sectors.
Speaking on the occasion, Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Kazakhstan said that his country wants to further strengthen trade relations with Pakistan as both countries have good potential to do trade in many items.
He said that last year, a trade delegation of Kazakhstan was organized to Pakistan and hoped that the visit of another Kazakh delegation would contribute to promote business relations between the two countries.
He said that the President of Kazakhstan is scheduled to visit Pakistan in the near future that would further strengthen trade and economic relations between the two countries.
Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that both countries should set at least US$ 1 billion bilateral trade target as the current level of trade is not matching with their actual potential.
He said that Kazakhstan is a big landlocked country and Pakistani ports provide it the shortest route through Arabian Sea to access other markets. Pakistan and Kazakhstan can cooperate in many fields including construction, agriculture, energy, textiles, pharmaceuticals, food items, engineering equipment, machinery, banking & finance.
Yessentayev Arman, Head of Kazakh delegation said that Pakistan is a huge market for business and investment and they have come to explore business opportunities in many sectors in Pakistan including oil & gas, surgical instruments, juices, textiles, rice, sugar, fertilizers and others.
He said that both countries should open bank branches in each other’s market that would facilitate bilateral trade promotion. He said that
there is a lack of information in private sectors of both countries about potential areas of business cooperation and hoped that their visit to Pakistan would bridge this gap.
