Latest news with #CentralAsianStates
Business Recorder
20-05-2025
- Health
- Business Recorder
Motorways & national highways: Efforts under way to launch air ambulance service across country
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan has stated that efforts are currently under way to introduce air ambulance service on motorways and national highways across the country. He added that this facility is aimed at ensuring that those injured in traffic accidents can be transported to hospitals in the shortest possible time. Aleem Khan expressed these views during his visit to the Expo Centre following the conclusion of the Kazan Forum at Tatarstan. The federal minister pointed out that Kazan's development model is highly impressive and offers valuable insights that can be adopted across various sectors in Pakistan. He highlighted the efficiency of Air Ambulance Service in Kazan, noting that such initiatives could greatly aid Pakistan in establishing similar services, fostering mutual learning and experience-sharing between the two countries. Aleem Khan emphasised that the high mortality rate resulting from road accidents during travel is a matter of serious concern and it is the government's responsibility to ensure that the injured ones are promptly transported to nearby medical facilities. He added that continuous improvements are being made in Pakistan's transportation infrastructure and efforts are under way to raise public awareness about e-tagging and other automated facilities. Aleem Khan described the Kazan Forum as beneficial for Pakistan, particularly in the context of advancements in the communications sector through collaboration among participating countries. He underscored the importance of enhancing land connectivity from Pakistan to Central Asian States and mentioned that productive discussions took place on this front during the Kazan Forum. In their visit to the Expo Centre, Kazan, Aleem Khan and the Pakistani delegation were briefed on the operational procedures and supporting infrastructure of air ambulance service. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Turkish envoy congratulates Aleem Khan on victory against India
ISLAMABAD: Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Irfan Neziroglu called on Federal Minister for Communications and President of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) Abdul Aleem Khan and congratulated him on Pakistan's brilliant victory against India. Aleem Khan expressed gratitude for Turkiye's support for Pakistan and said the people of both countries always have relations of brotherhood and goodwill for each other. He said Pakistan remained responsible, courageous and expressed brave behaviour in response to Indian aggression and due to the hard work of the Pakistani Armed Forces and especially historic performance of the Pakistan Air Force; Allah Almighty has granted Pakistan a historic victory. Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Irfan Neziroglu said the long-standing friendly relations between Turkiye and Pakistan are growing day by day and like in the past, Turkiye will continue to fully support Pakistan in any difficulty. He also expressed good wishes for Pakistan on behalf of the President and people of Turkiye on this important success. In this meeting between Turkish Ambassador Dr Neziroglu and Aleem Khan, in addition to matters of mutual interest, there was a detailed discussion on the 'Kazan Forum' to be held in this week, in which various countries of the region, including Turkiye and Pakistan, are participating. Aleem Khan said Pakistan is keen on promoting international cooperation, for which access and land connectivity from Pakistan to Central Asian States, Russia and Europe are of utmost importance. Aleem Khan told the Turkish Ambassador that Pakistan will offer trade corridors to other countries in the Kazan Forum, while options for trade routes with China, Afghanistan and Iran from Pakistan already exist, and further discussions can be held on rail, road, sea and air connections. Turkish Ambassador Neziroglu, while describing Pakistan as the best country for investment, said that the representation in the Kazan Forum is encouraging, which will have a positive impact on the economic condition of the region, as well. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Arab News
04-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan eyes trade corridors with Belarus to enhance access to Central Asia, Europe
ISLAMABAD: Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan on Thursday stressed the importance of creating trade corridors between Pakistan and Belarus, state media reported, noting that they could be instrumental in helping both countries access markets in Central Asia and Europe. Pakistan and Belarus have moved closer to foster stronger trade and economic cooperation in recent months. Both countries marked 30 years of diplomatic ties last year. Belarus's prime minister visited Islamabad in October 2024 to meet key Pakistani civilian and military officials to bolster economic cooperation. Khan arrived in Minsk on an official two-day visit to the country on Thursday. He met Belarusian Minister of Energy Denis Moroz and the country's Transport Minister Alexei Lyakhnovich, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. 'He emphasized the importance of creating trade corridors between the two countries which could play a key role in facilitating access to Central Asian States through routes in Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, or Iran, ultimately opening up pathways to Eastern Europe,' APP reported. 'Abdul Aleem Khan stated that these infrastructure projects would also be a strategic milestone.' Khan highlighted the potential for 'significant improvement' in the communications sector between both countries during his meeting with Belarusian ministers, APP said. It said the Pakistani minister is being hosted as a state guest in the eastern European country. He will have the opportunity to sign several new memoranda of understanding (MOUs) during his trip, APP said. Pakistan and Belarus agreed to boost cooperation in industry, media, tourism and other economic sectors during the eighth session of the Pakistan-Belarus Joint Ministerial Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation held in February this year. Islamabad has aggressively pushed for trade and investment ties with regional allies such as China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Central Asian countries and others recently in its bid to escape a prolonged macroeconomic crisis. Pakistan has signed MoUs worth billions of dollars with businesses and entities in China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Azerbaijan and other countries since last year to ensure sustainable economic growth driven by increasing exports and financial reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Express Tribune
05-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Utility Stores to have no role in Ramazan package
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the government would unveil the Ramazan Relief Package this year sans the Utility Stores' role to prevent corruption and distribution of low-quality commodities to the people. "As the Holy Ramazan is about to start, I have asked the Ministry of National Food Security to bring about a Ramzan Package without the Utility Stores [Corporation (USC)] to prevent corruption and the sale of low-quality material. I had asked many months ago that this cannot go on with the Utility Stores," the prime minister said in his televised opening remarks at the meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by him. He told the cabinet members that last year, the government had received many complaints about the execution of the Ramazan Package by the Utility Stores. Therefore, the government has devised a solution to provide the facility minus the Utility Stores. The prime minister directed immediate measures to operationalise Gwadar Port on a commercial basis and instructed the formation of a committee under the chairmanship of Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal to work with all stakeholders to transform it into a modern and fully functional port. Iqbal gave a detailed briefing on Gwadar Port in the cabinet meeting. The prime minister also directed organising an international conference to create awareness about the significance of Gwadar Port. "A comprehensive marketing and awareness strategy should be devised and diplomatic efforts regarding Gwadar Port should be expedited." He also sought details of imports and exports carried out through Gwadar Port. The meeting was informed that Gwadar Port had the capacity to provide cost-effective and time-efficient access to the Persian Gulf for vessels of up to 50,000 Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) and to facilitate trans-shipment to Gulf countries. Furthermore, the port was expected to play a vital role in the development of the mining and aqua-culture sectors in Balochistan province. Western parts of China and the Central Asian States would also benefit from this port. The meeting was further informed that Gwadar Free Zone had been exempted from all federal, provincial, and local taxes and the rules for the Free Zone had been finalized. It was revealed that between 2018 and 2022, criminal negligence was shown regarding dredging at Gwadar Port which severely affected its depth. However, dredging was completed in 2022-23, after which its depth had been restored. All necessary utility services had now been provided at Gwadar Port, it was added. The meeting was also briefed about several public welfare projects in Gwadar including the Pak-China Friendship Hospital, Gwadar Institute of Technical Education, Pak-China Primary School, Gwadar Livelihood Project, Gwadar Fisheries Processing and Export Zone, and Gwadar Solar Park. The prime minister was apprised that government was also working to link Gwadar with Pakistan Railways' Main Line cuisine recipes The Gwadar-Quetta Highway was completed in 2018, benefiting areas such as Turbat, Hoshab, and Panjgur. Additionally, the remaining sections of the M-8 Motorway (Gwadar-Hoshab-Rato Dero) were under construction to connect Gwadar with Sukkur. To further enhance Gwadar-Quetta connectivity, the Nokundi-Mashkhel road was being constructed, while work on the Mashkhel-Panjgur road would commence soon, it was told. The work on Gwadar East Bay Expressway was carried out at rapid speed while work on Gwadar Safe City was being completed in collaboration with the Balochistan government. The minister proposed modernizing cargo inspection facilities at Gwadar Port and utilizing artificial intelligence for this purpose. The prime minister appreciated the briefing. About the launch of the polio vaccination drive, he mentioned the killing of a policeman Abdul Khaliq in Jamrud who was deployed on the security of the polio team and paid tribute to his sacrifice to make Pakistan a polio-free nation. He also lauded the services of PM's Coordinator on Health Dr Mukhtar, Polio Coordinator Dr Ayesha Farooq, secretary health and polio vaccinators for their tireless efforts to rid the country of this crippling disease. Apprising the cabinet members of his Quetta visit on Monday, the prime minister said he visited the hospital to inquire after the security personnel who were injured in an anti-terror operation in Kalat in which 18 security personnel were martyred and 23 terrorists were eliminated. "I met the injured. They were in high morale and were even ready to sacrifice their lives for the country. These are the martyrs and Ghazis who are resolved to rid the country of terrorism and striving day and night for the cause," he remarked. The prime minister said that the soldiers of the army, police, FC and Rangers sacrificing their lives were actually bearing the brunt of the blunderous policies of a government in the past when thousands of terrorists were set free. The cabinet members also offered Fateha for the martyred security personnel as well as the policeman on the polio duty. The prime minister expressed pleasure over the inflation coming down to a nine-year low at 2.4% from 28.73% on a month-to-month basis. He congratulated the entire nation, the cabinet members particularly the finance minister, his team, FBR and others for their efforts during the last 11 months to bring the inflation down to the lowest level. "Now, we are fully striving to head toward economic growth This is the main challenge. All of our energies will be focused on economic growth. Just like other targets, we will achieve this too," he resolved. He told the cabinet members that on Monday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a delegation to Pakistan and both sides signed an agreement under which the Kingdom would provide oil worth annual $1.2 billion on deferred payment. Besides, the Saudi Development Fund will also provide a loan for a $40 million water supply scheme project in Mansehra. He said that the entire nation would observe Kashmir Solidarity Day on Wednesday to express solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren. Prime Minister Shehbaz also lauded the approval of agricultural income tax by all four provinces as per the IMF condition and thanked the chief ministers, President Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and Mian Nawaz Sharif for their support in this regard.
