Kazakhstan has signaled strong interest in forming joint ventures with Pakistan in food processing, agriculture value chains and pharmaceuticals, as both countries move to convert economic potential into concrete trade and investment outcomes.
The interest was conveyed during a meeting between Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shaqqaliev at the Ministry of Commerce in Islamabad.
According to an official statement, the two sides reviewed the current state of bilateral trade and explored practical avenues to expand cooperation in investment, connectivity and regional integration.
Both ministers reaffirmed their commitment to shifting Pakistan–Kazakhstan economic relations from potential to performance, with an emphasis on connectivity driven growth, private sector participation and sustained institutional coordination.
A major focus of the discussions was improving connectivity between Pakistan and Central Asia. Both sides agreed that stronger rail, road and multimodal links are essential to unlocking trade potential and enabling long term economic engagement.
The Kazakh minister highlighted the importance of developing large scale infrastructure projects, particularly transport corridors, saying such initiatives could generate trade and investment flows of around USD 5 billion while supporting regional supply chains and job creation.
Shaqqaliev said Kazakhstan aims to position itself as a regional hub linking Central Asia with South Asia, China, Europe and the Global South, including access to Pakistan’s ports.
The commerce minister underlined Pakistan’s interest in enhancing direct connectivity with Central Asia through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, while acknowledging existing regional and geopolitical challenges.
He said improved transit routes would benefit both countries and create broader opportunities for regional and global trade, including access to African and ASEAN markets via Pakistan’s port infrastructure.
The meeting also reviewed cooperation in priority sectors such as agriculture and food security, pharmaceuticals, textiles, sports goods, leather products, mining and minerals, energy and infrastructure development.
Pakistan invited Kazakh investors to explore opportunities in mining, minerals and agri based industries under Pakistan’s investment facilitation framework. Both sides stressed the need for structured business to business engagement. It was agreed that trade promotion bodies should facilitate connections between businesses, share market intelligence and support matchmaking without adding regulatory hurdles.
In this regard, the two countries agreed to work toward a framework document outlining priority sectors, trade targets and a roadmap including trade missions, exhibitions and exchange of business delegations.
