Iranian TV confirms casualties have risen amid ongoing recovery effortsPakistan, Kyrgyzstan have significant role in regional economic integration
Kyrgyzstan is an open and liberal economy which is always striving to promote investment and trade liberalization with global and regional markets: Ambassador Atakhanov
APP
ISLAMABAD
Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan, Avazbek Atakhanov has said that Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan have a significant role in regional economic and trade integration due to their geo-strategic importance.
Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan not only have importance in regional economic integration but also have huge significance in extra-regional connectivity in the future, the Ambassador said during a visit to Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) Head Office the other day.
The Ambassador said that Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan’s role in regional economic and trade integration is Pivotal and Pakistan’s geostrategic position also has great significance to connect global manor markets.
He said that Kyrgyzstan is an open and liberal economy which is always striving to promote investment and trade liberalization with global and regional markets.
The Ambassador said that Pakistani businesses and investors should invest in the Kyrgyz market, Kyrgyzstan is becoming a hub of global trade in the future, from which Pakistani traders and investors can benefit.
Kyrgyz envoy said that Kyrgyzstan can connect Pakistan with the Euro Economic Zone, in terms of economic and trade sphere, which will increase Pakistan’s trade.
He said that Kyrgyzstan was an emerging economy that was not only connected with regional economies but also with China, Kyrgyzstan’s bilateral trade through $ 23 billion.
The Ambassador said that Kyrgyzstan’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth had been increasing continuously year on year.
Kyrgyzstan’s annual per capita income is 3000 per capita, which has been growing continuously for the past few years, and along with this, the poverty rate in Kyrgyzstan is continuously decreasing and the standard of living of the people has been increasing, he said.
The envoy said that Renewable energy, mining, gold, tourism, and agriculture are important sectors of the national economy in Kyrgyzstan, due to which the annual GDP has increased by 30 percent in the past years.
He said that the Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan is visiting Pakistan from May 15 of the coming month, which will promote economic cooperation between the two countries.
He said that Kyrgyzstan is a country with democratic traditions where civil society is very strong and vibrant.
Responding to a question, the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan said that CASA-1000 is an important and beneficial project for cooperation in the energy sector between the two countries.
He said that work was underway on CASA -1000 and after its completion, Pakistan’s energy needs would be met to a large extent.
The role of youth is very important in the present era and both countries should enlighten the youth about their historical heritage and mutual relations and should make them aware about each other’s culture, he said.
Kyrgyz envoy said that the role of youth is significant in accelerating the relations between the two countries and “we should transfer our friendly relations and historical heritage to the next generation.’’
He said that Kyrgyzstan is an important country for tourism and the Kyrgyz government is constantly striving for modern facilities to promote tourism.
He said that Kyrgyzstan is a country adorned with natural landscapes and there are vast possibilities for mutual cooperation in the tourism sector between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The role of the media of both countries is important to highlight the tourism sector and there is a need for mutual awareness between the two countries in this regard, he said.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyz Ambassador and Managing Director, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) Muhammad Asim Khichi has agreed to promote assistance for technical support and bilateral media cooperation between the official news agencies of the two countries.
On this occasion, the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan gave suggestions regarding bilateral news exchange, technical support, training and capacity, information exchange and date sharing to highlight different potential sectors of the two countries and stressed on promoting mutual cooperation between the two news institutions in line with modern trends.
He said that APP and Kyrgyz national news Agency, ‘KABAR’ play a significant role in promoting bilateral relations between the two countries, which needs to be further improved in the future.
The Ambassador said that the role of the media is very important for highlighting the culture of Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan and each other’s countries, and in this regard, APP and the Kyrgyz national news Agency, ‘KABAR’ should work to promote bilateral culture.
Meanwhile, Managing Director, APP, Muhammad Asim Khichi assured the Kyrgyz Ambassador of all kinds of cooperation and urged the national news agencies of both countries to move forward for further fruitful cooperation.
Bandar Abbas port
The death toll from a powerful explosion at Iran’s biggest port of Bandar Abbas has risen to at least 28, with more than 700 people injured, state media reported on Sunday, as firefighters worked to fully extinguish the fire.
Saturday’s blast took place in the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, Iran’s biggest container hub, shattering windows for several kilometres around, tearing metal strips off shipping containers and badly damaging goods inside, state media said.
The blast occurred on Saturday at the Sina container yard, part of the key Shahid Rajaei port in Bandar Abbas, located more than 1,000 kilometres south of Tehran.
Emergency services confirmed the fire was now “under control but not extinguished,” with thick black smoke still rising from the site, according to a state TV correspondent reporting live from the scene.
Authorities had initially reported 18 deaths before revising the figure. Most of the injured have been transferred to local hospitals for treatment, officials said.
The explosion, which hit the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred as Iran began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there was no immediate indication of a link between the two events.
Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organisation, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.
“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” he told Iran’s ILNA news agency.
“Previously, the Director General of Crisis Management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger,” Zafari said.
An Iranian government spokesperson, however, said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason.
A series of deadly incidents has hit Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years, with many, like Saturday’s blast, blamed on negligence.
They have included refinery fires, a gas explosion at a coal mine, and an emergency repair incident at Bandar Abbas that killed one worker in 2023.
Iran has blamed some other incidents on its arch-foe Israel, which has carried out attacks on Iranian soil targeting Iran’s nuclear programme in recent years and last year bombed the country’s air defences.
Tehran said Israel was behind a February 2024 attack on Iranian gas pipelines, while in 2020 computers at Shahid Rajaee were hit by a cyberattack. The Washington Post reported that Israel appeared to be behind that incident as retaliation for an earlier Iranian cyberattack.
Israel has indicated it is nervous about the outcome of U.S.-Iran talks, demanding a full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear programme. Tehran says the programme is used solely for peaceful purposes, while international observers say it is getting closer to being able to build a bomb.
There was no immediate comment from Israel’s military or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office when asked for comment on whether Israel was in any way involved in Saturday’s explosion.
Oil facilities were not affected by the blast on Saturday, Iranian authorities said.
The National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company said in a statement it had “no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines.”
