Pakistan, Sept. 19 -- Two ports being described as "sister ports" can sound like a diplomatic formality, the kind of language that fills a joint statement and changes little on the ground. For Pakistan, however, the proposal now under discussion between Gwadar Port and Oman's Sohar Port deserves a closer look - not because of what it symbolises, but because of what it would require to become real: The real question, therefore, is not whether the two ports can become sister ports, but whether that relationship can generate ships, cargo, investment and repeatable commercial activity.

The current development is modest and clearly defined. Pakistani and Omani officials - Gwadar Port Authority Chairman Noor Ul Haq Baloch and Oman's Consul Gen...