LAHORE - Pakistan, for having the shortest and quickest access to Central Asian Republics (CARs), offers huge opportunity to reposition its economy by tapping potentials available in these land-locked states. This was the consensus among the speakers at a seminar on Exploring Prospects of Exports to Central Asian Republics (CARs) jointly organized by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan here on Monday. Chief Executive Officer, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, Syed Mohibullah Shah, LCCI President Mian Muzaffar Ali, Pakistans Commercial Consular to Kazakhstan Shaukat Ali Khan, Competitive Support Fund was represented by Mr Dawood Sharif and LCCI Senior Vice President Tahir Javaid Malik also spoke on the occasion. All the speakers stressed the need for exploring possibilities of increasing Pakistans exports to Central Asian Republics as the developed world had been facing financial constraints for the last many months. They said that Pakistani business community would have to go for diversification of exports. Pakistan is strategically located to export its products to these land-locked countries and there is demand for grains, pulses, leather goods, textiles and general merchandise items and currently very competitive due to low transportation cost due to lower cost of fuel and moreover in the presence of logistics. They said the business community should pursue marketing their products aggressively considering the scope and vast potential of CARs. LCCI President Mian Muzaffar Ali said Pakistan needed to activate and develop a mutually beneficial collaboration with CARs in order to realize the existing great potential for trade and economic cooperation. He said that the situation demands urgent sector-specific measures for the benefit of the business community. Mian Muzaffar Ali said that there is a need to identify more tradable items in order to enhance the mutual trade keeping in view the market demands. The Chief Executive Officer TDAP Syed Mohibullah Shah said that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) has decided to conduct a series of seminars to promote land route to CARs via Karakoram Highway as Pakistan is an ideal route for Central Asias international trade. He said that the Trade Development Authority had decided to establish a facilitation centre in Gilgit in order to facilitate business with CARs. This center would cover China and other regional countries including Central Asian Republics. He said that the TDAP was arranging a delegation to CARs in the month of June comprising industrialists and exporters. Dawood Sharif of Competitive Support Fund said that the fund would extend maximum technical assistance to enhance the two-way trade to wear off the intensity of global economic recession. Pakistan Commercial Consular in Almatay, Kazakhstan Shaukat Ali Khan said that the seminar would help open up new avenues to Pakistans business community and would bring both the sides further closer. He said that Pakistan location for trade with Central Asian Republics has no match in the world but to materialize the idea, Pakistani businessmen would have to visit that states for having first-hand knowledge about the available opportunities.