Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have signed a commercial agreement for outsourcing the operations of bulk and general cargo terminal at the East Wharf Karachi Port.

According to a statement issued on Saturday, the operations would be outsourced at seven berths of the port.

The agreement signed between the Karachi Port Trust and the Abu Dhabi Ports Group “aims to strengthen” bilateral relations in the marine and logistic sectors of Pakistan and UAE.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar witnessed the signing of the agreement and expressed satisfaction over the growth of exchanges, interaction and cooperation between businesses in Pakistan and the UAE.

On Saturday, interim PM Kakar said that a delegation from the UAE called on interim PM Kakar.

The caretaker prime minister said that during his recent visit to the UAE, both the countries had signed MoUs which would open a new era of economic cooperation between the two countries.

He stressed the need for cooperation in the aviation and tourism sectors, besides exploring the prospects in railway connectivity so that the people-to-people contacts could be further strengthened.

Last year in June, AD Ports Group signed an agreement to take over the running of part of Pakistan’s main Karachi docking facility in a deal worth an immediate $220 million.

AD Ports Group has formed a joint venture with another UAE company, Kaheel Terminals, to take over berths from Karachi Port Trust (KPT), the state-owned handling agency.

Karachi Port is Pakistan’s oldest and busiest, with 33 berths, and the UAE deal will see the joint venture lease four of them for the next 50 years.