Central Asian states can benefit from vast opportunities in Pakistan: Mamnoon

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain Thursday said that Pakistan is a land of great opportunities from which friendly countries, particularly the countries from Central Asia, could benefit the most.

He said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has opened up several avenues of investment in Pakistan for the Central Asian Republics (CARs), which will also be mutually beneficial for these countries.

The president said this while talking to the key participants of an international seminar on “Pakistan: A land of opportunities for the Central Asian Republics”, who called on him at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. National Security Advisor Lt Gen (r) Nasser Khan Janjua and senior officials were also present on the occasion.

The president emphasised that there were deep historical and cultural links between Pakistan and Central Asian Republics which make the cooperation more meaningful in other fields of life. He underlined that CPEC would create vast opportunities for development and progress in the region, and CARs could especially benefit from these openings.

“Therefore, it is necessary for this purpose to further enhance our cooperation at all levels,” he added.

The president underscored that there should be a frequent exchange of visits of the experts from various fields of life so that they could explore different opportunities and work for the progress and prosperity of the people.

Mamnoon highlighted that Pakistan was producing various state-of-the-art products including defence equipment. He added that the Central Asian Republics could benefit from Pakistan’s experience and products in these fields.

Similarly, young officers from CARs can also benefit from the training institutes of Pakistan in various fields including defence, he added.

The delegation included former vice prime minister and incumbent Federation of Chamber of Commerce of Uzbekistan Chairman Ikramov Adham Ilhamovich, National Institute of Strategic Studies of Kyrgyz Republic Deputy Director Baidoletov Nuradil Esenbekovich and Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies Director Georgiy Dubovtsev.

Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan Director Dr Khudaberdi Kholiqnazar, Deputy Minister for Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan Merdan Bayramdurdyyev and the Ambassadors of Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were also present on the occasion.