ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Ambassador to Moscow Faisal Niaz Tirmizi on Thursday said that Islamabad was working on a test freight rail route connecting Moscow and Islamabad in an effort to increase the logistical links and transport accessibility between the two countries.
While speaking to Russian news agency TASS in an interview, Tirmizi said that Pakistan already launched the process to create a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union as Pakistan was a natural partner in the North-South Transport Corridor.
“I can see a day in the near future when people from Murmansk, Minsk, and Moscow will be able to travel to Islamabad, Karachi, or Gwadar through all the countries [along the corridor],” the ambassador was quoted as saying.
He said that Pakistan strongly believed that as part of the Eurasian region, it had to have more people-to-people and business-to-business contacts with all the countries [of the EAEU].
"We have already started the process. There has been communication between Pakistan's Commerce Minister and the head of the Eurasian Economic Union. We will be able to reach a [free trade] agreement."
"It might take from few months to a year or two, but no more than that," he said.
He said that efforts were also underway to increase the number of flights and expand logistical links between Pakistan and Russia.
“We are actively working on a test freight rail route connecting Minsk, Moscow, and Karachi,” he said, adding that close cooperation was ongoing to make the Minsk-Karachi freight corridor operational.
“We want more Pakistanis to come to Russia, because Russia is such a wonderful place to visit that people should explore it,” he said.
“I've always maintained that two things are essential for a successful business. The first is flights. The second is cheap logistics connections.”
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