KARACHI: President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Irfan Iqbal Sheikh has disclosed that Kyrgyzstan will open a trade house in Karachi in March 2023.

This is an excellent initiative that will strengthen people-to-people and business-to-business linkages between the two countries, he said.

He also emphasised the need to capitalise on the TIR Convention to enhance bilateral trade with Kyrgyzstan through the land route, which not only saves time but also costs. He called upon the central banks of both the sides to remove bottlenecks in processing transactions through effectively operationalising the banking channels in order to unleash the true potential of trade between the two countries.

Irfan Sheikh pointed out that there is a Quadrilateral Traffic and Transit Agreement between Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan that provides an effective connectivity network between Central Asia and the Gwadar port to facilitate transit traffic and trade among the member countries.

Senior Vice President of FPCCI Suleman Chawla apprised members of the business community that Kyrgyzstan will organise the Pakistan Business Forum in Bishkek in March 2023, which will provide an excellent opportunity for B2B networking and ‘matchmaking’.

He assured full support from the platform of FPCCI to Kyrgyz Ambassador Totuiaev Ulanbek Asankulovich for success of the event. He called upon the Central Asian Republics to make full use of the opportunities being offered by CPEC. Pakistan will be more than willing to make them part of the strategic and game-changing mega-project.

Ambassador Totuiaev Ulanbek Asankulovich said that his embassy is working tirelessly to strengthen economic cooperation between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan and Pakistani textiles, pharmaceuticals, sports goods, surgical equipment and manufacturing materials, among other products, can find a good market in his country.

He said that the Kyrgyzstan Trade House has already been opened in Lahore and several more such initiatives are in the pipeline. He added that Pakistan can provide to the Central Asian Republics the shortest possible route to the sea.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023