Pakistan is ready to become part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Eurasian political, economic and military organization, during its forthcoming summit in Tashkent next month. Ironically, India is also going to be accepted into its fold after years of deliberations and reluctance by the SCO member states that the two arch rivals will bring their bilateral conflicts to the organization and will render it ineffective as has been done in case of SAARC forum. Pakistan is already a member of the CAREC program, a blend of 10 central Asian states, including China and Magnolia, since 2010 and is looking for new ways and means to enhance trade with Central Asia as part of its global as well as regional integration plan. Pakistan’s geographical location makes it gateway to the landlocked countries in the Central Asia which can avail Karachi and Gwadar ports for their trade with the rest of the world.
Pakistan can also improve its national corridorsand road network to open its link up to Russia which is the 10th largest country in the world in terms of gross domestic product. The Russian economy has been maintaining and recording a sustainable growth for last two decades after fall of the Soviet Union.However, trade between Pakistan and Russia remained as low as under $500 a year. After India’s tilt toward the United States, there are good chances for Pakistan to enhance its trade with Russia. Pakistan not only can supply thousands of items to Russia including fruits, vegetables, cereals, leather and textile products, but can also improve its defense relations with the country. Pakistan has the potential to exportcommodities up to $24.5 billion to Russia a year, indicating that Russia is not just a country but economy of Pakistan.The potential export to Russia also include trousers and knit-wares, cement and a host of other items.
It is a matter of concern that Pakistan’s trade with Russia is not picking up despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ‘pivot-to-Asia policy’ which he introduced in 2011 after Ukrainian crisis. The global trends are changing and foes of the past are becoming friends today and trade is the binding force between countries. It is time the government and the private sector of Pakistan pay attention to the opportunities in Central Asia and Russia rather than concentrating on labour export to the Arab nations. Besides road network, banking channels should also be established to facilitate exporters of the country to enhance trade with Russia. Pakistan can access the Russian and central Asian markets through China bypassing Afghanistan.
