ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has offered Tajikistan use of its ports in the southern cities of Karachi and Gwadar for transit trade, the foreign office said on Tuesday, as the South Asian state seeks to enhance its role as a crucial transit hub to connect the landlocked Central Asian economies with the rest of the world.
The offer was made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a two-day visit to Tajikistan which concluded today, Wednesday, as the premier traveled onwards to Kazakhstan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
Pakistan is currently pursuing a “Vision Central Asia” policy based on improving bilateral cooperation in the areas of politics, trade, investment, energy and connectivity, security and people-to-people contact.
“The PM informed the Tajik President about the operationalization of Gwadar seaport and offered Tajikistan the opportunity to avail the facilities of Pakistan seaports,” the Foreign Office said on Tuesday in a joint statement released by both countries.
“It was highlighted that the Pakistani seaports offer the most efficient, shortest and economic route for the Central Asian countries including Tajikistan to the markets in the Middle East and beyond.”
Sharif also invited Tajikistan to use the Karachi port for transit trade.
The two sides also reaffirmed their commitment to the early completion of the flagship CASA-1000, a power line between Central Asia and South Asia, underlining the importance of reliable electricity supply for sustainable economic growth. The project’s completion would open “new avenues for future energy corridors” and lead to prosperity in the entire region, the statement said. The CASA-1000 project aims to allow Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, former Soviet republics with an extensive network of hydroelectric power plants, to sell excess energy to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the summer months.
Sharif suggested that Pakistan could host a regional summit on trade corridors to Central Asian countries and promote commerce and regional connectivity through the construction of rail tracks and roads.
He also welcomed the launch of direct flight operations between Pakistan and Tajikistan after a private airline based in Dushanbe took the initiative last month, emphasizing the importance of increasing the number of such flights, the Foreign Office said.
“PM Sharif also invited his excellency, the Tajikistan President to visit Pakistan at a convenient time,” it said.
Chairman of Tajikistan’s Low Chamber of the Parliament, Muhammadtoir Zokirzoda, gestures during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Dushanbe on July 3, 2024. (Photo courtesy: PMO)
Sharif also appreciated the Tajikistan leadership’s role in water diplomacy and congratulated President Emomali Rahmon for successfully organizing international events such as the UN 2023 Water Conference and the third Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference, the Foreign Office said.
Sharif expressed support for the nomination of Tajikistan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2028-2029, appreciating the Central Asian country’s valuable support for Pakistan’s candidature to the same body last month.
The statement said the premier also voiced support for Tajikistan’s initiative to establish the SCO Anti-Drug Center in Dushanbe and commended Tajikistan’s initiative to declare 2025 as the international year of glacier conservation and the establishment of the international foundation for the protection of glaciers.
The prime minister later flew to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, where he was received by his counterpart, Alikhan Smailov, at the Nur Sultan Nazarbayev International Airport.
Sharif will attend the SCO Council of Heads of State and SCO Plus summits from July 3-4. He will also hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the two conferences.
