Pak-Kazakhstan trade volume likely to multiply: Envoy

ISLAMABAD—The envoy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Pakistan Mr. Bakhitbek Shabarbayev is quite hopeful that the trade volume between Pakistan and Kazakhstan is likely to swell 300 percent in the next few years.
While talking to newsmen, the ambassador, who recently presented his credential papers to President General Pervez Musharraf, said that in 2005 and up to the beginning of November 2006 its volume has made, accordingly, $10.4 million and $10.7 million, against $8.9 million in 2002 and $9.1 million in 2003.
He said that this level of mutual Kazakhstan and Pakistan trade is far the real potential of our states. He pointed out that the principal cause of this problem was in absence of the direct transport communication between the two countries.
He expressed hope that the Karakoram highway will contribute a lot to the surge in bilateral trade between two countries. He said that in 1994 Pak-Kazakhstan signed an agreement “on development of Transport Cooperation” and in the same year the governments of Kazakhstan, Pakistan, China and Kyrgyzstan also signed agreement “On Traffic-in-Transit”, which envisaged the exploitation of transit potential of the Karakoram Highway.
He said that the parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan ratified Agreement between the Kazakhstan and Pakistan on mutual incentives and protection of investments and when this agreement enter into force in Kazakhstan will be created more favorable conditions for implementation of mutual investment projects for Pakistani businessmen.
He said that there existed lot of potential for investors of both countries to cooperate themselves in petroleum and other sector and the investors of both countries come forward and take benefit from each others experience especially in oil and gas sector.
The envoy said: “The Kazakh embassy is carrying out relevant work and there are certain results. So, for example, for the years of my diplomatic mission in Pakistan the average number of Kazakhstan-Pakistan joint Venture companies functioning in Kazakhstan, has increased more than twice, against 26 Joint ventures in Kazakhstan in November 2003. Since the representative offices of the national bank of Pakistan functioning in Almaty. The number of Pakistani businessmen, who visited Kazakhstan on business in the period between 2004 and 2005, increased by two times”.
He said that in 2004-2005, the embassy organized and carried out special reconnaissance visits to Kazakhstan for the heads and members of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. This year, we plan to organize similar visits of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of other cities of Pakistan, he said.
He said that Kazakhstan has achieved great success in the economic development which today is known all over the world. Average annual rate of growth of industrial production in the country make up more than 10 percent and GNI per capita during the 15 years tripled, the volume of foreign trade turnover increased fourfold, the state budget allocations for public health services grew by four times, for a science and education by three times etc.
In a reply to question regarding the importance of international organizations in the development of the modern world and the role of our countries in these organizations, Mr. Bakhitbek Shabarbayev said that modern actively globalizing world simply cannot exist without international organizations and today’s international political and economic structures, simply speaking, are the ‘main fundament’ for the development of the whole human civilization.
He said that the reality is that the globalization process in intensifying and it is bringing in not only benefits in the forms of scientific and technical progress, increasing level and improving life standards of people, but also many common for all people threats and problems- international terrorism, pollution of environment, man-made catastrophes etc, which can be solved only by joint efforts of the world community. Therefore, no country, whatever powerful it is, will not be able to actively and effectively develop out of cooperation with international community and its organizing.
He said that the humanity has already rich experience of work in such global forum as United Nations which helped the world in 2oth century to avoid the break out of the third world war, solve humanitarian, technogenetic and other problems. Today, he said, the UN has new tasks in its agenda, which require radical modernization of its activity and Kazakhstan, as majority of other countries, actively supports the idea of UN modernization in order to increase the effectiveness of its peacemaking and humanitarian activity.—Online