ISLAMABAD: To tap into an over $90 billion Central Asian export market, Pakistan is planning to sign transit and preferential trade agreements (PTA) during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Uzbekistan later this month to attend the ‘Silk Route Connect’ Conference, Khan’s commerce adviser has said.
The summit, which will take place in Tashkent on July 15-16, was conceived by Pakistan’s commerce ministry earlier this year and is being organized by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). Khan is expected to leave for Uzbekistan on July 13 or 14.
“During the visit of the prime minister, Pakistan and Uzbekistan will sign a number of agreements, including Transit and PTA,” Abdul Razak Dawood, adviser to the PM on commerce, told Arab News in an exclusive interview in Islamabad, estimating that trade potential for the export of goods between Asian countries and Uzbekistan stood at over $90 billion.
Dawood said signing the PTA would help Pakistan diversify its export market outside of Europe and the United States.
“Pakistani exporters have been concentrating on Europe, UK, America, Japan and Korea but there is a much bigger world so one of our policies is to look at the Central Asia republics and that is why we have selected this ‘Silk Route Reconnect’ theme and we have selected Uzbekistan,” the commerce adviser said. “Uzbekistan is the only country that is connected with all Central Asian countries and they have very good infrastructure.”
Dawood added: “We are hopeful once we begin in Uzbekistan in July 2021 and our businesspeople settle in, we would be able to have more and more exports not only to Uzbekistan but to other Central Asian republics.”
The PM’s aide said Islamabad and Tashkent had agreed to set up warehouses in their respective countries for the facilitation of trade: “Dedicated space in Gwadar and Tashkent would be allocated for setting up warehouses.”
In May this year, the first TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers/ International Road Transport) vehicle successfully crossed into Pakistan carrying goods from Uzbekistan via Afghanistan.
“After the successful trial of TIR we are planning to increase the flow of goods among the Asian countries”, Dawood said.
The PM’s adviser did not rule out the possibility of Pakistan accessing Moscow through land routes via Central Asian countries where the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) have set up road and railway infrastructure links with Russia.
Pakistani PM to sign agreements in Uzbekistan to tap $90 billion export market — aide
https://arab.news/m3zmp
Pakistani PM to sign agreements in Uzbekistan to tap $90 billion export market — aide
- Khan will be in Tashkent to attend ‘Silk Route Connect’ summit on July 15-16, PM’s commerce adviser says
- Dawood says Pakistan wants to diversify its export market beyond Europe and United States
Pakistan says Saudi help securing oil supplies as it vows to absorb price shocks amid Iran war
- Petroleum minister says Riyadh, UAE assisting with vessels as Strait of Hormuz closure disrupts supplies
- PSO says petroleum stocks sufficient for more than 20 days of normal demand despite regional disruptions
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Tuesday it was working with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to secure oil supplies and would try to absorb any further global price shocks to shield consumers, after a record fuel price hike triggered by the ongoing Iran war and disruptions to regional energy routes.
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said the government had coordinated with Saudi authorities to arrange shipments from the Red Sea port of Yanbu, part of broader efforts to stabilize supplies as tensions in the Middle East roil global energy markets.
The conflict escalated after coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran late last month, followed by Iranian retaliation across the Gulf and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key corridor through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. The disruption has driven crude prices higher and raised fears of global supply shortages.
“With the prime minister’s support, and with the help of the Saudi ambassador, we coordinated with the Saudi government to arrange [oil shipments] from Yanbu, which is a port on the Red Sea,” Malik said in an interview with Geo News.
“They are providing tremendous assistance to us,” he added. “The UAE is also extending significant help. We are coordinating with Saudi Arabia, they are arranging ships for us, and they have also arranged a larger vessel. We are trying to have it dock in Oman and then transfer the cargo to smaller vessels, but we are not getting insurance to dock in Oman.”
Pakistan last week raised petrol and diesel prices by 55 rupees per liter, the largest single-day increase in its history, as the government scrambled to keep energy supplies flowing while managing a fragile economic recovery under an International Monetary Fund program.
Malik said authorities had tried to prepare for the crisis by building reserves where possible, though some fuels such as gas could not be stockpiled in the same way.
“These are extraordinary circumstances,” he said. “In this situation, one thing we have tried to ensure is that the public does not face any difficulty in supply in any way.”
He said the government had entered the crisis in a relatively better position after building reserves of several fuels, though the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had created new logistical challenges.
“Even today, you may see minor complaints here and there, and there will certainly be discomfort regarding prices, but at least the supply is available,” Malik said.
Malik said it remained unclear how global oil prices would evolve in the coming weeks but stressed the government would try to cushion consumers from further shocks.
“However, I can say one thing: the prime minister has certainly decided that if any increase does occur, the government will try as much as possible to absorb it so that it does not create additional difficulties for the public, while also ensuring that supply continues.”
SUFFICIENT FUEL STOCKS
Meanwhile, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the country’s largest fuel supplier, said it had sufficient petroleum stocks to meet normal demand for more than 20 days despite regional supply disruptions.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, the company said it had secured multiple cargoes of motor gasoline (Mogas) for March and early April through international tenders and government-to-government arrangements.
Two Mogas cargoes from Oman are scheduled to arrive this month, while another shipment has been secured from Saudi Arabia’s Aramco following coordination between Islamabad and Riyadh, it said.
The company added that it had also secured a Mogas cargo for early April and opened another tender for deliveries later that month.
PSO said its current high-speed diesel (HSD) stocks were also sufficient for more than 20 days of normal demand, though supplies from Kuwait Petroleum Corporation had been disrupted after the company declared force majeure due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The company said it was exploring alternative supply routes and additional cargoes to maintain stocks ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming agricultural season, when diesel demand typically rises.
