Uzbek-Pakistani cooperation is actively moving forward in all priority areas

On January 25 this year, the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan S. Umurzakov held talks via videoconference with the Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on trade and investment Abdul Razak Dawood.

The agenda of the talks included a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation in such areas as investment, mutual trade, industrial cooperation and the transport and logistics sector.

The implementation of the agreements reached during the visit of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Uzbekistan in July 2021 was substantively reviewed. The progress achieved in the promotion of joint projects and initiatives was discussed, the existing issues in each direction were considered and worked out. A commitment was expressed to close cooperation in order to accelerate the implementation of agreed projects.

The success developed by the two states in increasing trade turnover was noted: at the end of 2021, the volume of mutual trade increased by 46 percent compared to the previous year. In this context, the progress of work on the draft Preferential Trade Agreement was studied. The parties agreed to intensify joint work in this direction in order to agree on the document and speed up its signing during the current year.

The Uzbek side welcomed Pakistan’s ratification of the Transit and Trade Agreement. It was discussed that in the near future negotiations will be organized between the leadership and experts of the transport and customs departments of the two countries in order to agree on the mechanisms for the practical implementation of the Agreement.

In a separate order, proposals were considered to deepen investment cooperation, strengthen ties between the business circles of the two countries, as well as establish cooperation in the banking sector. An agreement was reached to organize a visit by a delegation of the leadership of Pakistani companies and commercial banks in February this year to discuss promising areas of cooperation and the implementation of mutually beneficial projects.

Issues related to the implementation of joint projects in the transport and logistics sector were also considered. In particular, further steps were discussed on the practical implementation of the Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway construction project. In addition, the relevance of enhancing bilateral passenger and freight traffic between the two countries was noted.

The dialogue also made it possible to discuss preparations for a number of planned bilateral events, including a regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, as well as a business forum with the participation of representatives of the private sector of the two countries.

As a result of the negotiations, additional agreements were reached as part of the implementation of common tasks and the promotion of the considered areas of cooperation.

 

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