ISLAMABAD, Dec 13 (APP): Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Tuesday said that Pakistan was keen to seek and establish broad-based productive and sustainable ties with central Asian states under “Vision Central Asia Policy”.
Talking to Chairman of Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Koshanov Yerlan Zhakanovich and members of his entourage at the Parliament House on Tuesday, he said Pakistan also offered to provide access to CARS through Karachi and Gwadar ports.
He said that considering the potential of both countries, there was an urgent need to find new ways to diversify and promote bilateral trade.
Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani said that joint projects could be be initiated in energy, agriculture, IT, textile, energy, logistics and housing, and construction sectors.
He called for increased institutional collaboration and said that Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) was a unique research and capacity-building organization for parliamentarians.
The institute could prove to be an excellent forum for sharing parliamentary experiences and knowledge.
The chairman observed that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Kazakhstan and desired to further diversify the already fraternal ties.
During the meeting, he congratulated the Kazakh people and Parliament for trusting the leadership of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and electing him as the president.
He said that under the leadership of the newly elected President, Kazakhstan would reach new heights of development, and prosperity and the Pak-Kazakhstan friendship would be strengthened.
The chairman extended advance felicitations on the upcoming Independence Day of Kazakhstan.
The chairman Senate congratulated the two countries on the completion of 30 years of diplomatic and thanked the Government of Kazakhstan for their generous assistance to the flood-affected people of Pakistan.
The chairman overwhelmingly welcomed the delegation and said that both sides share bonds of friendship having deep cultural, religious, and social similarities.
He hoped that this visit would further augment the cooperation and open up new vistas of cooperation at multilateral levels.
Emphasising the role of Parliamentary diplomacy, Sadiq Sanjrani observed that parliament represents the will of the people and frequent exchanges between members of parliament were the best means of bringing people together.
Both countries had excellent ties at the defense level as well, he added.
He also said that a liberalized visa policy was the need of the hour to enhance communication between academia of both countries and the public.
He said that there were vast opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture and sports.
The chairman said that there was a lot of scope to strengthen the educational cooperation between the two countries for the optimum utilization of modern technology.
Chairman of Mazhilis of Parliament of Kazakhstan Koshanov Yerlan Zhakanovich said that Pakistan was an important country in the region and bilateral cooperation would bring more innovation and diversification in the relations.
“It was a pleasure to visit Pakistan and the hospitality is exemplary,” he added.
Senators Manzoor Ahmad Kakar, Naseema Ehsan, Dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, Fida Muhammad Khan, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Zahid Akram Durrani and Secretary Senate Muhammad Qasim Samad Khan were also present in the meeting.
