LAHORE, Sept 20: Former President of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik has said Pakistan’s geographical location offers a strategic advantage for building a stronger maritime economy, particularly at a time when global supply chains are being reconsidered.

In a statement here on Sunday, he said Pakistan had a significant geographical advantage through its Arabian Sea coastline, which provides access to international shipping, while Karachi Port, Port Qasim and Gwadar could provide greater strategic depth to the national economy.

Iftikhar Malik said artificial intelligence and digitalization could transform port operations through improved vessel planning, cargo optimization, predictive maintenance, traffic management and supply-chain coordination.

He said Pakistan had historically served as an important maritime gateway and possessed the geographical potential to connect Central Asia with global markets. Developing commercial ship-repair facilities could encourage vessels to remain in Pakistan for maintenance and other services instead of using the country merely for cargo operations.

He also stressed the need to upgrade Gadani in line with international standards to strengthen Pakistan’s ship-recycling sector. Maritime tourism, he added, could create new economic activity along the country’s coastline.

Iftikhar Malik described maritime trade as a national economic lifeline, saying energy supplies, imports and exports, industrial production and regional connectivity all depended on the uninterrupted functioning of the country’s maritime and logistics system.

He cautioned that the security environment around Pakistan was changing and stressed the need to move beyond conventional port security towards a comprehensive national concept of maritime resilience.

He said infrastructure, connectivity, technology, governance, investment and human capital were essential to converting Pakistan’s geographical advantage into sustainable national economic strength.

Iftikhar Malik further said geography alone could not create resilience and emphasized that Karachi Port, Port Qasim and Gwadar should increasingly be viewed as components of a single national maritime system.

He said the concept of “Three Ports, One System” deserved serious consideration, as the three ports had different operational strengths and should complement rather than compete with one another.