Pakistan-Kazakhstan toward a durable partnership

2026-02-02 - 23:06

Dr Talat Shabbir PAKISTAN and Kazakhstan share a long-standing relationship rooted in mutual trust, respect and cooperation across a wide range of issues shaped by the evolving regional and global landscape. The upcoming visit of Kazakhstan’s President H. E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to inject fresh momentum into the bilateral strategic partnership and further deepen broad-based cooperation between Islamabad and Astana. The visit reflects growing strategic convergence amid shifting political dynamics in Eurasia. As the largest state and economy in Central Asia, Kazakhstan occupies a central place in Pakistan’s ‘Vision Central Asia’, which seeks to expand strategic, diplomatic, economic, cultural and connectivity-oriented engagement with the region. Recent high-level interactions, including the September delegation-level talks between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu, reaffirmed commitment to elevate ties through the signing of a landmark Action Plan of Cooperation. President Tokayev’s visit is thus poised to reinforce this positive trajectory and advance a durable partnership. The two countries have made significant progress in rendering trade into a broad-based economic partnership. The current volume of bilateral trade is around $89.6 million, which has seen 2.5 times increase compared to last year when it remained limited to $36.3 million. In view of the current trade pattern, there is enormous potential to expand trade volume comprising medium to high-value exports in the field of petrochemicals, metallurgical goods, mechanical engineering and pharmaceutical industries. Taking the stock of untapped trade potential, both countries have expressed determination to expand bilateral trade to an ambitious goal of $1 billion which signals renewed effort to further consolidate economic diplomacy. To further unlock trade potential between the two countries, expanding investment cooperation, B2B linkages and P2P ties have to be placed at the forefront. Similarly, scaling up cooperation in the areas of agriculture, industrial and technological cooperation must also assume precedence. Both countries ought to fast-track implementation of the Roadmap for Trade and Economic Cooperation for 2025–2027 which was agreed upon in April, 2025. Furthermore, the 13th Pakistan–Kazakhstan Joint Intergovernmental Commission (JIC) proved to be an enormous leap forward in deepening sector-specific cooperation. The 14th Session of the JIC, which is planned to be held in Astana this year, must build on this positive momentum. To actively facilitate endeavors of economic cooperation, both countries must also fully utilize and benefit from trade-transit agreements and mechanisms. In this regard, it is very encouraging to note that both countries have successfully operationalized the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA) in June, 2023, paving way for trans-regional transit trade of goods. The year was also the first shipment of Pakistan to Kazakhstan, which was facilitated by the QTTA. Moreover, the draft Agreement on Transit Trade has already been concluded between the two sides. In the energy and mineral areas of cooperation, both the countries can benefit from greater cooperation. In Central Asia, Kazakhstan, being as an integral component of the Eurasian energy corridor, is a major producer of crude oil, natural gas and strategic minerals such as the world’s largest producer of uranium. These resources can be used to meet the industry and energy needs of Pakistan. Pakistan could diversify the energy mix by signing import contracts with Kazakhstan and by encouraging joint exploration and investments in energy-based projects. Beyond the economic aspect, there has been positive movement between the two countries on regional economic integration. Their common interest in a better connectivity has become a strategic priority. Kazakhstan’s geography makes it the gateway for Pakistan to link itself to Eurasian markets. On the other hand, Pakistan’s geographical position provides Kazakhstan with access to the Arabian Sea through the ports of Karachi and Gwadar as well as a gateway into the lively South Asian market. Kazakhstan is also active in the International North West-South transport corridor and Middle corridor used to link the South and Central Asia. Its support enhances the position of Pakistan as an important transit point which facilitates it to play a major role in the consolidation of regional connectivity in South and Central Asia. In the realm of cultural cooperation, the importance of building stronger people-to-people ties by forging historical and civilizational bridges between the two brotherly nations and finding new avenues for building resilient connections is extremely important. Through promoting cultural exchanges, youth and academic linkages, cultural and religious heritage tourism and establishing air connectivity, both nations can further strengthen their bilateral relationship. The April session of the 13th Pakistan-Kazakhstan Joint IGC encompassed culture, tourism and youth engagement as key areas along with strengthening economic cooperation. In the domain of multilateral cooperation, Pakistan and Kazakhstan partnership is based on shared security, economic, connectivity and humanitarian objectives. By playing an active role in important multilateral platforms such the UN, SCO, ECO, OIC and CICA, both countries strive to collectively pursue their shared agenda of sustainable development, regional economic and connectivity cooperation, regional security and counter-terrorism, energy cooperation and regional connectivity and humanitarian diplomacy. The 25th SCO Council of Heads of State meeting in Tianjin in September, 2025 stands as a stellar example of how both countries collectively pursue their shared interests. The forthcoming high-level engagement reflects enthusiasm to turn Pakistan-Kazakhstan historic relationship into strategic broad-based partnership by deepening multi-sectoral cooperation. While, for Pakistan, it paves way to advance its geo-economic pivot, it also reinforces Kazakhstan’s multi-vector foreign policy, hence, shaping a mutually beneficial partnership. The Pakistan–Kazakhstan relations are poised to transform into a formidable alliance in the twenty-first, outgrowing symbolic diplomacy and embracing strategic significance. —The writer is Director China-Pakistan Study Centre at Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad.