ISLAMABAD, Aug 29 : Pakistan would take further steps to provide easy, efficient and cost effective transit access to the landlocked neighbours to facilitate them in their international trade.

According to an official announcement made here on Friday, Commerce Secretary, Kamal Asfar stated this in the International ministerial Conference on Transit Transport Cooperation held in Almatay, Kazakhstan recently.

The secretary assured that Pakistan despite its resource constraints was determined to do whatever it could to provide an efficient transit transport system to the landlocked neighbours.

He informed the participants that Pakistan has already signed transit agreements with her landlocked neighbours.

To effectively implement these agreements it was aggressively engaged in further strengthening the existing institutional arrangements that would allow the land-locked countries easier, shortest and most cost effective transport access to international market.

In doing so, he said, Pakistan had not only modernized and expanded its existing highways and railway system but had also embarked on building a new port and related facilities at Gawadar.

He further said that most of these initiatives were being undertaken with the active support and collaboration of its bilateral and multilateral donors.

He emphasized that the transit route through Pakistan for the landlocked developing countries like Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republic was shortest and most cost-effective route to the warm waters of the Arabian Sea.

The Karachi and Qasim ports provided efficient, modern and dedicated facilities for transit goods. With the commissioning of Gwadar Port by 2005, the facilities would further be enhanced to cater to the entire needs of these landlocked counties, he added.

Pakistan was also keen to proceed with the construction of oil and gas pipelines to facilitate the transportation of the abundant energy resources from its landlocked neighbours through shortest possible routes and cost effective means.

The successful operation of Afghan Transit Trade Agreement and the signing of the Economic Cooperation Organization Trade Agreement (ECOTA) in Islamabad recently were important steps in that direction, he added.