Pakistan
CAREC in Pakistan
Since joining CAREC in 2010, Pakistan has pursued innovative ways to break down barriers to growth and position Central Asia at the heart of trade and commerce within an increasingly integrated global economy. Pakistan’s road network is strategically linked to CAREC Corridors 5 and 6, at the crossroads of rapidly growing regions of South Asia and Central and West Asia. Corridor 5 connects Central Asia and East Asia to South Asia, providing potential routes to Karachi’s all-weather seaports for landlocked countries. As a transit route between Central Asia, South Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Russian Federation, Corridor 6 facilitates the export of agricultural products from Pakistan to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
Pakistan is upgrading its national road corridors and border-crossing points. It is advancing modern trade facilitation measures and implementing paperless trade through its national single window. With its abundant human and natural resources, Pakistan is implementing initiatives to bolster regional connectivity, secure sustainable energy, and diversify its economy—including through tourism and digitalization—that will unlock new opportunities and promote economic growth. Working with other CAREC countries, Pakistan is building resilience, mitigating disaster risks, and achieving sustainable development.
Key Projects
As of 2023, more than $2.05 billion has been invested in Pakistan through CAREC, whose goal is to establish a modern transport and energy infrastructure that will allow the region to fully benefit from its vast physical and human resources.
Stronger ties with neighbors to the north through CAREC have enabled Pakistan to import enough energy to make up for its shortages in electricity supplies. In return, Pakistan will offer its mostly landlocked CAREC partners access to its warm water ports on the Arabian Sea, giving them the prospect of greater trade with the Middle East.
Pakistan’s location at the crossroads of Central, South, and Southwest Asia makes it ideally suited to become a hub of economic activity. Better connections between the Middle East and the interior transport corridors that Pakistan can provide through its sea ports, could drive trade, commerce, and renewed prosperity.