Pakistan to join the international transport corridor

ISLAMABAD: Khalid Jamali, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Russia, has said Pakistan has started the process of joining the North-South International Transport Corridor after the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Referring to President Vladimir Putin’s State of the Union address last year, where he invited Pakistan to join the International Transport Corridor, Pakistan’s Ambassador Khalid Jamali said that Pakistan had decided in principle to join it and has initiated the relevant procedures.

“We are moving in that direction,” the ambassador said this while addressing the International IT Forum organized in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, on 18 and 19 June 2024.

He said that Pakistan and Russia have strong bilateral relations and highlighted their cooperation at international platforms like Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO and the United Nations. He said that Pakistan has requested help from Russian friends to join the BRICS.

Khalid Jamali said that Pakistan has successfully imported 10 lakh tons of Russian crude oil and expressed deep interest in getting continuous supply of Russian oil and gas. Agriculture was identified as another promising sector for cooperation. Some 69 percent of Pakistan’s population is associated with the agricultural sector.

He emphasised on the restoration of Silk Road with successful delivery of Pakistani kinos to Dagestan via Iran and Azerbaijan. He said that this new trade route indicates the potential to increase the trade volume, which has already reached one billion dollars.

The ambassador further suggested that with Pakistan’s developed furniture industry and Russia’s abundant timber resources, possibilities could be explored to consider exports of fine timber from Russia to Pakistan.

Acknowledging Russia’s strong education system, Ambassador Khalid Jamali suggested that education is another important area of cooperation between the two countries. He said that Pakistani students can be given the facility to study in Russian universities. This initiative is in line with the desire of people of both the countries for stronger ties as shown by the participation of a large Pakistani delegation at the World Youth Forum in Sochi.