Uzbekistan looks to Pakistani ports

[Kailash Kumar]

Uzbekistan looks to Pakistani ports

Mubarak Zeb Khan

May 08, 2020

Pakistan plays a central role in the QTTA which is believed to be an alternative route bypassing Afghanistan and relying on the Karakoram Highway via China to reach Central Asian States.

ISLAMABAD: Uzbekistan on Thursday formally sought Pakistan’s support for accession to the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA) in a bid to utilise Karachi and Gwadar ports for its trade operations.

The formal request was made by Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Sardor Umurzakov during a video conference with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood. Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Furqat Sidikov also joined the meeting held at the Ministry of Commerce in Islamabad.

The QTTA is a transit trade deal among Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to facilitate the passage of goods and traffic. A road project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will provide access to China and the Central Asian States to Pakistani ports.

Responding to the request, Dawood assured Pakistan’s support for Uzbekistan in QTTA.

Pakistan plays a central role in the QTTA which is believed to be an alternative route bypassing Afghanistan and relying on the Karakoram Highway via China to reach Central Asian States.

Uzbekistan also sought the establishment of Joint Working Group for trade and investment cooperation.

An official statement following the meeting said that Uzbekistan requested Pakistan to support its cause in accession to QTTA, and share its experience on achieving the Generalised System of Preferences Plus status.

Dawood apprised the Uzbek side that a memorandum of understanding for Pakistan-Uzbekistan Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment will be ready for signing after seeking approval from the cabinet of Pakistan.

During the meeting, it was resolved that all out efforts would be made to enhance bilateral trade relations, establishing joint ventures in various areas including agriculture, textile, pharmaceuticals, tourism and construction.

Pakistan’s exports to Uzbekistan stood at $13.190 million FY19 as against $9.254m over the previous year. Similarly, Pakistan’s imports from Uzbekistan are very negligible as it stood at $5.449m in FY19 as against $3.640m over the previous year.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1555445/uzbekistan-looks-to-pakistani-ports

 

[Indus Pakistan]

Time to kill the Tsarist Empire of Russia and the Raj.

 

[alphapak]

Pakistan need to make another port in Balouchistan.

 

[Taimoor Khan]

QTTA. Whoes part of this agreement? first time hearing this. By the sounds of it, it will bypass Afghanistan and use China for the access to central Asia. Sounds very logical. Afghan situation is not going to improve anytime soon and even once it do, it will take years to build necessary infrastructure like motorways to connect central Asia via Afghanistan.

 

[Asian.Century]

Pakistan needs more ports like Gwadar in Balochistan.

to facilitate the QTTA.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

There is a reason I say Pakistan needs to kill the legacy of the Raj and Russian Tsarist Empire. The reason is simple. All of Central Asia even stretching into Russian Siberia with cities like Novosibirsk are naturally hinterlands of Pakistan. That is they are our 'backyards'. Their resources, their economic potential should be acted out in Pakistan. This is vast economic potential that would turn cities like Peshawar in global trading hubs like they used to be. If you look at history of Peshawar it's bazars had traders from Kazakistan, from Turkistan in present day China. Caravans regularly plied these routes. Indeed the Moguls had come along these highways. Tashkent in Uzbekistan is closer to Peshawar than Karachi. Dushanbe is closer to Islamabad then Delhi. The closest sea to this entire region is Arabian Sea. Ports like Gwadar or Karachi should be hanbdling ALL of Central Asian, Russian Siberian, Chinese Xinkinang trade. This region should be as integrated as European Free Trade area is. Please refer to the map below and see why Pakistan and it's coast on the Arabian Sea should be buzzing with trade instead of buzzing with flies.

Instead in 1850s the British and Russian during the Great Game period carved this region into their own respective domains. Up came a artificial iron partition that divided the like from like. For instance Tajiks got divided from Tajiks. Uzbeks from Uzbeks. Pakhtuns from Pakhtuns. This partition cut off these regions but even after 1947 the British left and Pakisatan gained freedom the USSR and east/west rivalry kept this region divided. Then after collapse of Soviet Union the Afghan conflict has prevented us from erasing the false partition brought here by European powers. The result is even today all of Central Asian trade still goes west to Turkey, north to Russia or east to China. The south [Pakistan and Arabian Sea ports like Gwadar are still cut off].

This is the the legacy of British Raj and Russian Tsarist Empire. Pakistan divided off from Central Asia and instead left in desidom which might be okay if not that it includes India which poses nuclear threat to Pakistan with our armies regularly killing young boys on both sides.

Time to unlock this potential now. Time to undo the past.And gain in billions of dollars in trade. Oil and gas. Welcome Central Asia to your separated brothers to the south !

 

[Trango Towers]

Pakistan need to make another port in Balouchistan.

Why? We havent got gwadar fully operational yet

 

[Pakistani E]

Pakistan really needs to annex Wakhan corrider, and by pass "Afghanistan" altogether if it seriously wants to unlock the potential of trade and influence through Central Asia. The rest of Afghanistan has nothing to offer us anyway.

 

[Shah_Deu]

Pakistan really needs to annex Wakhan corrider, and by pass "Afghanistan" altogether if it seriously wants to unlock the potential of trade and influence through Central Asia. The rest of Afghanistan has nothing to offer us anyway.

Actually its not far away when we have a friendly govt there, things will quickly fall in place as soon as the yankies flee! Ideally AfPak, Central Asian countries streching all the way to Turkey should all be connected with soft borders on the lines of Schengen area. Maybe in 50 years who knows. Our region is historically, culturally and religiously closer than many EU countries in Schengen are to eachother!

 

[Pakistani E]

Actually its not far away when we have a friendly govt there, things will quickly fall in place as soon as the yankies flee!

Friendly? Just like the friendly Taliban aka strategic depth government that laughed in our face when we tried to resolve the Durand line issue?

 

[American Pakistani]

Pakistan needs more ports like Gwadar in Balochistan.

to facilitate the QTTA.

I think it is better to fully operationalize and develop Gwadar first instead of multiple locations. We need a proper modern urban city, developed, able to sustain itself and which generates income for the country.

 

[Shah_Deu]

Friendly? Just like the friendly Taliban aka strategic depth government that laughed in our face when we tried to resolve the Durand line issue?

Thats the point, as soon as the trade starts, the lines would get blurred. The potential benefits and the attraction through economic and touristic connections would be huge. We are the only country except iran to offer these countries access to Arabian sea.

 

[Pakistansdefender]

Pakistan needs more ports like Gwadar in Balochistan.

to facilitate the QTTA.

Hold your horses dear. One at gawader is enough. Develop gawader as a city.
That's it. Pakistan all exports are don't through karachi port. That makes other ports and gawader almost free.
First utilise what we have to maximum capacity only then go for new ones.

 

[Shah_Deu]

Instead of investing in newer ports other than gwadar, we should invest more in internal connectivity via road and rail. The faster and the more reliably the goods could move from north to south and vice versa, the more important gwadar gets into the regional picture.

 

[Pakistani E]

Thats the point, as soon as the trade starts, the lines would get blurred. The potential benefits and the attraction through economic and touristic connections would be huge. We are the only country except iran to offer these countries access to Arabian sea.

What economic benefits with Afghanistan? The Taliban in the past refused to talk on Durand Line, and they will refuse to talk about it in the future. This issue will always be there, regardless of who's in charge in Kabul, because of our weakness. No amount of economic bribery will convince them to accept the Durand Line as a permanent border.