Central Asia’s largest country, Kazakhstan is joining with the Dubai-based World Logistics Passport (WLP), to boost its position as a trade hub for Europe and Asia.
The World Logistics Passport (WLP) is the first global freight and logistics loyalty program established by Dubai Logistics World (DLW) to enhance trade opportunities between emerging markets.
Kazakhstani Minister of Trade and Integration, Bakhyt Sultanov and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for boosting the trade possibilities.
The WLP provides businesses and governments with resources to actively improve existing trading routes, and develop new ones. The program also intended to resolve trade barriers, such as logistics inefficiencies, which currently hinder trade growth between emerging markets.
The WLP makes it easier for those regions to diversify trade in existing goods and to increase market shares in key products among other developing economies, as countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America rely on developed countries for their exports and trade.
Under the leadership of Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan is the third country to officially join Dubai, following Colombia and Senegal, in exchanging expertise to smooth trade flows around the globe. Other major economies like Brazil, Uruguay, and South Africa have also registered as partners of the WLP. Joining the WLP creates an opportunity for Kazakhstan to diversify its exports and imports from Europe and China to growing markets in Latin America and Africa.
Bakhyt Sultanov Trade & Integration Minister Kazakhstan
“Kazakhstan can become a link between the Belt and Road Initiative and the World Logistics Passport. This will open up new opportunities in the field of transport and logistics, revealing the entire transit potential of the country. Almaty will become the key logistics hub of Kazakhstan. The strategic location of the city allows increasing the share of Kazakhstan’s trade between China and Europe. Almaty also provides access to markets in the region such as the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the Economic Cooperation Organisation, and can be a gateway between these markets and the World Logistics Passport partners. Almaty airport will become an air hub offering a wide range of world-class services.”
The membership in the World Logistics Passport will enable Kazakhstan to access lesser tapped markets. The strategic position of the country enables its largest city, Almaty, to increase its share of trade between China and Europe by rail.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said, “Trade is a vital part of economic development and with the addition of Kazakhstan to the World Logistics Passport, the nation is accelerating its future economic growth. The WLP – with Dubai’s expertise in logistics at its core – is helping to reimagine how goods and services move around the world, increase resilience in global supply chains and remove the barriers that prevent nations such as Kazakhstan from trading as prosperously as they might.”
