Pakistan and Ethiopia have agreed to explore the establishment of a trilateral maritime alliance, potentially involving Djibouti, aimed at enhancing trade connectivity between Asia and Africa.
\nThe understanding was reached during a meeting between Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry and Ethiopian Ambassador Dr. Oumer Hussien, who called on the minister for the first time after assuming his diplomatic assignment.
\nThe two sides reviewed proposals and measures to expand bilateral trade and economic engagement, said a news release issued here on Thursday.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Junaid Chaudhry underscored Pakistan\u2019s growing focus on expanding maritime links with African nations and proposed the formation of a three-country alliance comprising Pakistan, Djibouti and Ethiopia. He noted that the framework could be expanded to include additional countries based on mutual consultations.
\nThe minister highlighted that despite being a landlocked country, Ethiopia could significantly enhance its trade capacity by utilising Port of Djibouti under a structured maritime arrangement. He added that a formal agreement could be signed following the completion of necessary groundwork, with a ceremony planned to mark the occasion.
\nAmbassador Dr. Oumer welcomed the proposal and emphasised the need for technical consultations between experts from both sides and both sides designated focal persons to deliberate on operational modalities and develop a practical framework for the proposed alliance.
\nJunaid Chaudhry also briefed the ambassador on the performance and capacity of Pakistani ports, stating that recent cargo handling figures reflected a substantial increase in operational efficiency. He noted that port activity in recent weeks had demonstrated throughput levels comparable to those typically achieved over a much longer period.
\nHighlighting efforts to strengthen economic engagement with Africa, the minister referred to a business facilitation initiative titled \u201cAfrica House\u201d, aimed at providing a one-window platform for African traders to access Pakistani goods and services.
\nThe Ethiopian envoy appreciated Pakistan\u2019s outreach under its \u201cLook Africa\u201d and \u201cEngage Africa\u201d policies, describing them as reflective of a strong commitment to building enduring partnerships with East African nations.
\nHe noted that Ethiopia imports pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, garments, fertilisers, rice and food products and expressed optimism about further expanding bilateral and regional cooperation under the proposed maritime framework.
\nConcluding the meeting, the both sides agreed to maintain close coordination to translate the proposal into a practical initiative at the earliest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan and Ethiopia have agreed to explore the establishment of a trilateral maritime alliance, potentially involving Djibouti, aimed at enhancing trade connectivity between Asia and Africa. The understanding was reached during a meeting between Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry and Ethiopian Ambassador Dr. Oumer Hussien, who called on the minister for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-540885","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n