According to a report by Qatar News Agency, a new sea route between Hamad Port and Pakistan’s Port of Karachi has been established. The new route comes as Qatar and Pakistan aim to further cement ties and boost trade with each other. 

The route is meant to act as a “fast and secure” corridor for importers and exporters. The transit time from Doha to Karachi is around six days, with the transit from Pakistan to Qatar taking about eight days.

A visit by a delegation of Pakistani industrialists and businessmen to Qatar is helping to move certain plans towards fruition, as they aim to establish new trade partnerships, as well as invest in Qatar’s pharmaceutical sector.

Zubair F. Tufail, President of The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), is leading the delegation, and has pointed out their intention to increase exports to the Qatar in a statement to The Peninsula.

“Pakistan has the capability to export medicines, textile, construction material to Qatar,” he said, and was quick to emphasize how a fast-track visa policy for the Pakistani business community would help from Qatar’s end. 

The delegation’s trip is happening just a month after Qatar’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani visited Pakistan in July to discuss relations in light of the current diplomatic crisis.  

He was the first high level Qatari official to visit Pakistan since the cutting of diplomatic relations with Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and the Maldives on 5 June.

Pakistan has found itself in something of a fix since the blockade occurred, juggling relations between Qatar and the countries of the opposing faction, especially Saudi Arabia. 

In spite of the diplomatic curveball, the country has insisted upon remaining neutral in the crisis, repeatedly stressing that it maintains friendly and cooperative relations with all the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Photo credit: The Maritime Standard