Pakistan offers Kazakhstan access to its ports for cargo transit

Pakistan has offered Kazakhstan access to the seaports of Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar for cargo transit. The proposal was announced by Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry. The Pakistani side has not yet disclosed specific routes, potential shipment volumes or the timeline for launching the new logistics solutions, according to logistan.info.

Kazakhstan and Pakistan are currently developing several transport corridors, including routes via Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, through Iran, as well as through Kyrgyzstan and China. In addition, Kazakhstan and Iran recently signed an investment agreement to build a logistics center at Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas.

Pakistan’s initiative comes amid rising shipping risks in the Black Sea region following Ukrainian strikes on Russian port infrastructure. While no direct link between these developments has been confirmed, the emergence of new transit proposals may reflect a broader effort by regional countries to diversify transport corridors and reduce dependence on individual logistics routes.

The initiative could also be relevant for Kazakhstan’s agricultural sector. Most of the country’s grain exports are traditionally shipped to Central Asia, China and via the Caspian route, while supplies to more distant markets are also transported through Russian Black Sea and Baltic ports. In 2025, the Baltic route surpassed the Black Sea route in terms of Kazakh grain transshipment volumes, although both corridors remain important for exports to Europe, North Africa and other distant markets.

If shipping risks in the Black Sea persist and Russia continues redirecting part of its export flows to the Baltic region, competition for port capacity used by Kazakh grain exporters could increase. In that case, developing alternative routes through Pakistani ports could provide an additional opportunity to diversify logistics and expand access to markets in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Tags: Pakistan, logistics, Kazakhstan