Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan, Yerzhan Kustafan on Wednesday said that Pakistan and Kazakhstan have potential of $1 billion of bilateral trade for which the communication and interaction between both sides is pivotal.
The Ambassador said that the Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) and other local business chambers can play an important role in increasing bilateral trade between Pakistan and Kazakhstan and in their cooperation with the business community of both sides. Yerzhan Kistafin said that 47% contribution to the economy of Kazakhstan is currently from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which are growing day by day.
He said that women have a very important role in the economy of Kazakhstan, women entrepreneurs are the owners of big brands in Kazakhstan, and there are a lot of women, especially in the textile, clothing, fashion and IT sectors.
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan, Yerzhan Kustafan on Wednesday said that Pakistan and Kazakhstan said this while addressing the seminar on theme of “Small and Medium Enterprises and Women Entrepreneur” organized by IWCCI along with Founder President of IWCCI , Mrs Samina Fazil here in local hotel.
The Ambassador said that the delegation of Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry under the leadership of its leader Ms. Samina Fazil should visit the cities of Almaty, Astana, and other cities of Kazakhstan and evaluate the business opportunities there so that they can have an idea about the local market and during this time both in sides strong business links can be established between the women entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, the ambassador of Kazakhstan said that Kazakhstan is currently the most attractive country for foreign investment.
In the last 10 years, the volume of foreign investment reached $400 billion in Kazakhstan, and in the same way, the volume of foreign investment in the last fiscal year 2022 was $26billion in the economy of Kazakhstan. He said that Kazakhstan currently ranks 25th in the World Bank, Ease of Doing Business ranking in the world.
The Ambassador said that the two countries can establish bilateral trade and mutual cooperation in textile, pharmaceutical and agriculture, tourism and IT. Talking on the bilateral banking channel, he said that a mutual agreement has been finalized between the Bank of Punjab and the Bank of Uzbekistan, which will facilitate the opening of LCs. While discussing the transit trade between Pakistan and Kazakhstan, he said there are two options for transit trade routes, one is the route through Afghanistan to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The second route for transit trade is from China to Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan, from which the first transit consignment has successfully reached Kazakhstan through the Sust border located on the historical Silk Route and there is a possibility of further progress in the future.
The Ambassador of Kazakhstan said that the transit trade consignment is a continuation of the recent Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA), which will speed up the trade between the countries in the near future.
He said that this trade agreement was signed between Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan said that the transit trade agreement and customs agreement between the two countries will be signed soon, the implementation of which will have a positive impact on bilateral trade.
He said that Pakistanis the fifth largest market in the world in terms of population, with which Kazakhstan’s trade links are very important.
He said that there are many opportunities for ties between both countries in education and especially in medical education. The ambassador said that currently 1500 Pakistani students are studying in Kazakhstan and there is a possibility of further increase.
He said that efforts are also underway for a bilateral cooperation agreement in the big cities of both countries, in which the memorandum of mutual cooperation will be signed soon in Karachi, Lahore and Multan and Kazakhstan cities of Almaty, Astana and Turkistan.
On this occasion, Samina Fazil, founder president of the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Islamabad, said that the business community wants to increase the volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Kazakhstan and strengthen bilateral relations in the SMEs sector in both countries, in which the role of IWCCI will be very important.
He said that Kazakhstan and Pakistan are major players in economic integration in the region, which will pave the way for economic cooperation in the region. Meanwhile, President of Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry Islamabad Rizwana Asif said that Kazakhstan is an important country in Central Asia and bilateral relations and mutual cooperation between Islamabad Women’s Chamber and Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Kazakhstan is necessary.
On this occasion, the former president of IWCCI, Ms. Naima Ansari, former senior vice president of IWCCI,Mrs Sadaf Asim Abbasi and former president of Women’s Chamber Mrs Mumtaz Akhtar Raja said and other speakers also addressed the event.
Finally, Ambassador of Kazakhstan Yerzan Kustafan participated in the cake-cutting ceremony of the 15th anniversary, Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and answered the questions of business women.
