Islamabad: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood has termed the Gwadar Port opening to be ‘a big success’; stating that providing its access to Russia and the Central Asian States would be a greater achievement, a news source reported. He further remarked that the development would facilitate Pakistani exports in exploring new international market opportunities.
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan have been negotiating the details of a trade agreement for the past few years. However, Afghanistan has insisted on India’s inclusion in the agreement. Similarly, Iran has also been offering Pakistan access to Central Asia but that proposal has not progressed much owing to US-Iran issues.
Meanwhile, Tajikistan has proposed that Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan should sign a Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA) which, though longer, will provide the Central Asian states and Russia access to Gwadar without inclusion of either Afghanistan, India or Iran.
