Pakistan’s National Logistics Corporation (NLC) and DP World, an Emirati multinational logistics company, are set to begin a shipping service between Karachi and Dubai next month, Pakistani state media reported this week.
Pakistan, which has been facing an economic crisis, wants to leverage its strategic geopolitical position and enhance trade with various countries in the region.
Pakistani policymakers consider the United Arab Emirates (UAE) an optimal export destination due to its geographical proximity, which minimizes transportation and freight costs while facilitating commercial transactions.
The shipping service between Karachi and Dubai’s Jebel Ali port is due to begin on Jan. 13, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“This shipping service marks a significant milestone in strengthening trade and regional connectivity,” the report read. “It will also promote economic growth and prosperity and will further accelerate the pace of development in the region.”
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States (US), and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE foreign ministry. It is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates.
In January this year, Pakistan and the UAE signed multiple agreements worth more than $3 billion for cooperation in railways, economic zones and infrastructure, a Pakistani official said, amid Pakistan ‘s caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s visit to Davos, Switzerland to attend 54th summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The agreements cover the development of a dedicated freight corridor, multi-modal logistics park, and freight terminals, Syed Mazhar Ali Shah, the Pakistan Railways secretary, said at the time.
Under the agreements, DP World would carry out infrastructure improvement at Qasim International Container Terminal, Pakistan’s leading trade gateway, as part of the project. The Emirati firm also planned to develop an economic zone near the terminal.
