Turkmenistan is set to become the first Central Asian country to access the Gwadar Port under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as both countries are about to ink an agreement in this regard. 

Pakistan and Turkmenistan are already venturing various joint projects, including TAPI pipeline, railway track and fibre connectivity to connect two regions – South and Central Asia. 

Sources told The Express Tribune the government has formed a committee with a task to vet the draft of the agreement to be signed between Port of Gwadar and Port of Turkmenbashi under the CPEC. 

In the recent cabinet meeting, the Planning, Development and Special Initiatives minister was assigned a task to oversee the agreement with the support of the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Maritime Affairs. 

The agreement shall be placed before the cabinet after it is vetted by the committee and the planning ministry. 

According to Ministry of Maritime Affairs the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Interior have completed the process of due diligence. Besides, the Ministry of Law & Justice has also vetted the draft MoU after making minor changes. 

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs informed the cabinet that the objective of the arrangement was to establish regional and international cooperation to utilize the potential capacities of the two ports for transit of goods and containers. 

The ministry sought the approval of the cabinet for signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the port authorities of the two countries. 

In the cabinet meeting, a committee was formed to consider the approval of 50 percent public sector imports from Gwadar Port. 

The committee included the ministers for commerce, maritime affairs and economic affairs and the secretaries for commerce, finance, industries and production, national food security and research, power and maritime affairs. 

The committee shall review the proposal prepared by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, taking into account the financial, commercial, logistical, transportation cost and consumer price implications of the proposal. The committee shall also consider the views of the divisions concerned.