KARACHI: Pakistan and Iraq have agreed to strengthen their maritime cooperation by exploring new sea routes after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch a ferry service between the port cities of Umm Qasr and Gwadar, Pakistan’s maritime affairs ministry said this week.

Islamabad this week granted its first-ever ferry service license to an international operator, Sea Keepers, for routes connecting Pakistan with Iran and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said the move would boost regional connectivity, religious tourism and economic activity via sea routes.

The agreement to launch the ferry service between Umm Qasr and Gwadar was reached in a meeting between Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, and a three-member delegation from the Iraqi Embassy in Islamabad, led by its deputy head of mission, Abdulqadir Sulyman Alhimiri.

“Welcoming the initiative, Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry described it as ‘a new chapter’ in bilateral relations, emphasizing that maritime passenger and cargo links could build on expanding economic ties and religious travel between the two countries,” Pakistan’s maritime affairs ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Chaudhry highlighted that Islamabad can meet Baghdad’s potassium sulphate needs through the ferry service, noting that a manufacturing facility is present in the southwestern Gwadar Free Zone.

“The ferry connection can leverage our shared cultural and religious bonds while unlocking new business opportunities,” the minister said.

He underscored the potential for increased port activity and expansion of the supply chain under Pakistan’s blue economy strategy.

The ministry said last year, over 88,000 Pakistani pilgrims visited Iraq to observe the Ashura religious occasion.

Chaudhry informed the Iraqi delegation that Pakistan was also working to set up ferry routes with Iran and GCC countries.

He said similar arrangements with Iraq could complement these plans, fostering a regional maritime network that meets both economic and strategic goals.

“The minister proposed expanding goods trade by boosting Pakistani exports of medicines, meat and rice to Iraq while increasing Iraqi oil imports into Pakistan, which could help elevate bilateral trade well beyond current levels,” the ministry said.

Alhimiri expressed “strong support” for the minister’s proposals, calling the maritime sector a “key enabler” for future collaboration, the Pakistani ministry said.

Chaudhry said the proposed ferry link would serve as a vital corridor to access broader Asian markets for Iraq, reduce transportation costs, improve logistics, and significantly boost bilateral trade between the two countries.