Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on said Pakistan prefers collaboration over confrontation in the maritime sector, stressing that the Indian Ocean should be a source of opportunities rather than petty rivalries and strategic contentions.
Addressing the concluding session of the Pakistan Navy’s AMAN Dialogue 2025 in Karachi, he congratulated Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, the naval forces and all stakeholders for organizing the partnership building event. The AMAN Dialogue, he maintained was an example of mutual trust and shared prosperity, signifying Pakistan’s commitment and resolve towards a peaceful maritime sector.
Iqbal noted that globally oceans face evolving challenges from illegal fishing, piracy, drug and human trafficking. These, he said, could only be tackled by embracing modern technology.
During his address, the minister briefed the on Pakistan’s aims for a blue economy, pointing to the Uraan Pakistan program. The 5-year initiative, he said, would modernize and digitize ports, enhance shipping trade routes, enable A.I. in trade, and connect multiple trade route via CPEC corridors.
The planning minister hoped that ties built through AMAN would transform into long standing partnerships for the betterment of the maritime sector. He urged the maritime community to embrace Artificial Intelligence and modern technology by developing ethical and legal guidelines in the sector.
Iqbal hoped that the international dignitaries and guests who participated in AMAN would carry Pakistan’s message of peaceful maritime aspirations to the rest of the world.