The President of Uzbekistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan outlined priorities for further deepening the strategic partnership

On February 5, in the city of Islamabad, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif held talks in a narrow format and the first meeting of the Council for Strategic Cooperation of the Supreme level.

At the beginning of the meeting, the head of our state congratulated the Prime Minister on the upcoming holy month of Ramadan and Pakistan Day.

Practical issues of further expansion and strengthening of Uzbek-Pakistan relations of strategic partnership and multifaceted cooperation in the context of the implementation of agreements at the highest level were substantively considered.

The high level of interaction achieved in recent years was noted with satisfaction. Political dialogue is actively strengthening, interparliamentary and interdepartmental exchanges are developing dynamically.

At the end of last year, the volume of mutual trade reached almost $500 million. There are about 230 enterprises operating in Uzbekistan with the participation of Pakistani capital. The number of flights between the two countries has increased. Interbank correspondent relations are being strengthened.

Cooperation projects in the textile, pharmaceutical, chemical industries, agriculture and other industries are being successfully implemented.

The parties welcomed the fruitful results of the political consultations and meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission that took place in the run-up to this visit.

As part of the visit, an exhibition of industrial products of Uzbekistan is taking place.

The need was noted to hold the first meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Foreign Ministries of the two countries in the near future in the city of Tashkent.

In order to establish long-term partnerships between business circles, an agreement was reached to create an Uzbek-Pakistan Business Council.

The task of bringing mutual trade turnover up to 2 billion dollars in the near future. Decisions were made on a multiple expansion of the product range within the framework of the current Preferential Trade Agreement, as well as the list of phytosanitary permits for Uzbek agricultural products, the active use of trading houses of Uzbekistan in Lahore and Karachi.

In preparation for the visit, a portfolio of projects worth almost $3.5 billion has been formed in the fields of agriculture, electrical engineering, geology, pharmaceuticals, light and food industries and others.

Special attention is paid to the development of transport and logistics interconnectedness. The importance of accelerating the implementation of the Trans-Afghan Railway construction project, as well as promoting the transport corridor “Pakistan – China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan” was emphasized.

Interregional cooperation was identified as one of the key drivers for the development of economic cooperation.

The creation of the Uzbek-Pakistan Forum of Regions was agreed upon, the first meeting of which it was proposed to organize this year in the Khorezm region.

Issues of establishing systemic interaction in the field of pilgrimage tourism were separately discussed. In order to further bring the peoples of the two countries closer together, it was agreed to hold Uzbekistan Culture Weeks and Uzbek Cinema Days in Pakistan this year.

The head of our state also proposed creating a joint cultural center in the city of Lahore to promote the heritage of the Baburids.

During the negotiations, views were exchanged on current issues of the international and regional agenda, and the commitment to continue close cooperation within multilateral structures was confirmed.

In conclusion, Shavkat Mirziyoyev invited Shahbaz Sharif on a return visit to Uzbekistan.