On February 5, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held narrow-format talks and the first meeting of the bilateral High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Islamabad.
Mirziyoyev arrived in Pakistan on a state visit.
By the end of last year, the volume of mutual trade reached nearly 500 million US dollars. Around 230 enterprises with Pakistani capital are currently operating in Uzbekistan.
The two countries implement cooperation projects in the textile, pharmaceutical, chemical industries, agriculture, and other sectors.
To establish long-term partnerships between business communities, an agreement was reached to create an Uzbek-Pakistani Business Council.
A task was set to increase bilateral trade turnover to 2 billion US dollars in the near future. Decisions were made to significantly expand the product range under the existing Preferential Trade Agreement, broaden the list of phytosanitary permits for Uzbek agricultural products, and actively utilize Uzbekistan’s trade houses in Lahore and Karachi.
As part of the preparations for the visit, a portfolio of projects worth nearly 3.5 billion US dollars has been formed in the fields of agriculture, electrical engineering, geology, pharmaceuticals, light and food industries, and other sectors.
Particular attention was paid to the development of transport and logistics connectivity. The importance of accelerating the implementation of the Trans-Afghan railway construction project, as well as promoting the Pakistan – China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan transport corridor, was emphasized.
An agreement was reached to establish an Uzbek-Pakistani Forum of Regions, with the first meeting proposed to be held this year in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan.
In conclusion, Mirziyoyev invited Shehbaz Sharif to pay a return visit to Uzbekistan.
Photo: president.uz
