MULTAN: Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan Mr Yerzhan Kistafin said on Monday that Asian International Financial Center (AIFC) has been set up at Almaty where all business and trade-related problems and issues would be resolved under one roof on European pattern.
While addressing a gathering of industrialists at the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) here, the Kazakh ambassador said that Kazakhstan House was already operational in Lahore and Karachi and resolving all business and
trade-related issues swiftly at one point.
He said, area wise his country was 9th largest in the world, blessed with innumerable opportunities for new businesses and industries. He added that inputs like oil and electricity were cheaper in cost while laws and facilities were business-friendly.
He disclosed that three direct flights per week would operate from Pakistan to Kazakhstan from June 2023. He promised to issue a business visa within three days on the recommendations of MCCI.
He said that 50 per cent of the world’s population lives in Central Asia and business persons can have easy access to this big market by availing business-friendly atmosphere in Kazakhstan.
He said that Pakistan and Kazakhstan can benefit each other through cooperation in agriculture, Industry, tourism, technology transfer, health, education, Industry and commerce through joint ventures for the benefit of the people of the two countries.
He said both countries have to prepare the younger generation to successfully meet future challenges and added after operations of direct flights, an Expo Center would be developed in Kazakhstan for Pakistani products.
He said a delegation of Pakistani women entrepreneurs would visit Kazakhstan in Oct 2023. He said an agreement has been finalized with NLC for the promotion of trade and transport between the two countries. He said that services of the Bank of Punjab have been secured for money transactions while talks with other banks were also underway.
The Kazakhstan ambassador said that agreements regarding cooperation between universities of both countries, student delegations visits, and scholarships, particularly in the engineering field have been reached. Kazakhstan also imported sweet, aromatic and tasty Pakistani mangoes, he added.
Earlier, MCCI president Mian Rashid Iqbal highlighted the importance of enhanced trade relations between both countries and demanded that Pakistan be declared as the most favourite nation with a preferential trade agreement. He also suggested a national economic zone in Kazakhstan for Pakistani investors.
He said that joint ventures in engineering Petrochemicals, agriculture and energy sectors can be beneficial for the two countries. MCCI senior vice president Nadeem Ahmad Sheikh, vice president Asim Saeed Sheikh and former president Mian Muhammad Hussain also spoke.
