Pakistan aims to become a regional hub for maritime transport: Ishaq Dar

Deputy Prime Minister emphasizes the importance of blue economy for Pakistan’s economic growth.

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Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has underscored the critical importance of international cooperation for ensuring maritime stability.

Speaking at a conference on the Blue Economy in Islamabad, Dar emphasized that global collaboration is key to achieving sustainable progress in the maritime sector.

The Deputy Prime Minister outlined government plans to modernize the fishing industry and align it with contemporary standards.

He also announced that Pakistan will update its shipbreaking industry with the latest technology to enhance efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Looking ahead, Dar expressed Pakistan's ambition to become a central hub for regional maritime transport. He assured that developments in the country's port sector would contribute to this goal. He told the gathering that the government had already removed sales tax on fisheries processing plants and fishery seeds.

Highlighting the significant investment opportunities offered by the country’s ports, he said the oceans support around 85% of global trade and also play a critical role in achieving the sustainable development agenda.

Dar said that Pakistan, as a maritime nation, viewed the Arabian Sea as its fifth neighbor and a vital component of its economic and strategic paradigm. Pakistan’s unique geopolitical and geographical position offered immense potential for trade, with economic zones offering opportunities for coastal tourism, aquaculture, biotechnology, energy, and health.

He said Pakistan was transforming ports into hubs of regional and international trade, and efficient green transhipment as a maritime single window was operational to enhance port efficiency.

Highlighting the impacts of climate change on Pakistan, like the 2022 flash floods, the deputy prime minister said the government was committed to low-carbon alternative fuels and establishing green corridors despite the country's minimal contribution to carbon emissions.

He told the moot that the government was taking several reformative measures, like outsourcing major airports and privatizing airlines, and many investors were in the pipeline for the ports industry, too.

He said the system would collapse if the multilateral mechanisms failed to work and highlighted the Gaza situation, where Israel’s barbarism continued despite the resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council.