Pakistan emerging as strategic trade gateway for Central Asia: PBF

Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) on Friday said a quiet but consequential shift was underway in Central Asia’s geo-economic outlook, with Pakistan increasingly emerging at the centre of regional recalibration as a strategic southern gateway for trade, connectivity and economic diversification.

Khawaja Mehboob ur Rehman, President Pakistan Business Forum, said recent high-level visits of Central Asian leaders to Islamabad reflected growing regional recognition of Pakistan as a viable and strategic partner for trade and economic cooperation.

Khawaja Mehboob said the evolving engagement marked a turning point in regional economic thinking, where geography, market access and connectivity were converging to elevate Pakistan’s role in Central Asia’s future architecture.

The back-to-back visits of the Presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to Pakistan, following the visit of the President of Kyrgyzstan two months earlier, were more than routine diplomatic exchanges, he said, adding that together they signalled a deliberate shift by Central Asian states toward deeper economic engagement with Pakistan.

For landlocked Central Asian economies, he said, Pakistan offered a shorter, more reliable and cost-effective route to warm-water ports, providing direct access to South Asia, the Middle East and global markets, which could significantly enhance their export competitiveness and regional integration.

Khawaja Mehboob ur Rehman said discussions during these visits focused on translating political goodwill into tangible economic outcomes, including expansion of bilateral trade, facilitation of investment flows, and strengthening of transit trade and logistics frameworks.

He noted that Pakistan’s growing industrial base, large consumer market and improving connectivity infrastructure had positioned the country as a natural partner for Central Asian economies seeking diversification and resilience amid changing global trade dynamics.

The PBF president said Pakistan’s importance for the region extended beyond transit trade, citing strong complementarities in sectors such as energy, agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, information technology and manufacturing.

PBF president said Central Asian states could supply energy resources and industrial inputs, while Pakistan offered value-added manufacturing capacity, skilled human capital and access to downstream markets, adding that this synergy, if effectively harnessed, could substantially raise bilateral trade volumes that currently remained well below potential.