By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Uzbekistan signed a protocol on Thursday aiming to boost bilateral trade to $2 billion within five years, part of a broader package of agreements struck during Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s two-day visit to Islamabad.
The accord, which calls for a joint working group to identify sectors for expanded economic cooperation, came amid 28 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and agreements covering defence, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and other fields, according to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan.
It followed a similar commitment last month when Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Mirziyoyev in Tashkent. “We had a warm and most productive round of talks, covering the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, with special focus on trade and investment, regional connectivity, education and cultural exchanges,” Sharif said in a post on X.
The two leaders also discussed regional and global issues, and that Mirziyoyev received Pakistan’s highest civil award, the Nishan-i-Pakistan. Twenty of the documents were exchanged in the presence of Sharif and Mirziyoyev at a televised ceremony.
Among the pacts were an action plan for defence cooperation signed by Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Uzbek counterpart Shukhrat Khalmukhammedov; an MoU between Pakistan’s Drug Regulatory Authority and Uzbekistan’s Agency for Pharmaceutical Industry Development to collaborate on products and regulations; and an agreement on sanitary requirements for fruit exports.
Other deals included cooperation in ecology, climate change and disaster risk reduction; disaster management; mining and geosciences; transfer of sentenced persons; and combating drug trafficking. In sports, an MoU was signed between the Pakistan Sports Board and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Sports. To bolster trade, the sides agreed on expanding the list of goods under their Preferential Trade Agreement and establishing a Pakistan-Uzbekistan Interregional Forum for regional and business ties. In information technology, Pakistan’s IT ministry and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Digital Technologies signed an MoU for digital infrastructure, innovation and technology exchange. Maritime cooperation featured an MoU for preferential port arrangements at Karachi, Gwadar and Qasim ports. Industrial and small and medium enterprise pacts were also inked, along with academic ties between institutions like the University of Peshawar and Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, and strategic studies centres. Municipal partnerships included agreements between Peshawar and Termez, and Islamabad and Samarkand, plus a joint business council between the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and its Uzbek counterpart.
At the ceremony, Mirziyoyev received an honorary doctorate and professor title from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad for his contributions to bilateral ties and regional peace.
Sharif, addressing the event, called Uzbekistan a “brotherly” nation and highlighted deep-rooted historical, spiritual and cultural links via the ancient Silk Route, the Mughal empire and figures from Samarkand and Bukhara. “These historical facts provide a very sound foundation of our durable relations and a very bright future,” Sharif said. He thanked Mirziyoyev for his leadership in elevating relations and noted the inaugural meeting of a high-level strategic cooperation council earlier that day.
Sharif pledged close collaboration on regional connectivity, including the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway project, which he described as a “game changer” for the region. “I want to assure you that I will work very closely with you for regional connectivity, as we both are in total agreement that the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan rail project will be a game changer, not only for our countries but for the entire region,” Sharif said. “And in that, we are ready to join hands and work together to raise funds for this project on the basis of our feasibility and business plan.”
Mirziyoyev, in his remarks, called Pakistan a “time-tested, reliable partner and closest friend” in South Asia. “I’d like to specifically outline that Pakistan, which is developing very rapidly, is achieving higher and higher results and showing that a modern Pakistan can achieve a high level of development,” he said.
On conflicts, Mirziyoyev supported uniting efforts for Palestine and vowed coordinated foreign ministry actions. “If we unite our forces and our efforts, we will be able to cope with any problems and difficulties present nowadays, and what might be emerging in the future as well,” he said.
Mirziyoyev also visited Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS), where Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir hosted him and briefed on defence products and innovations, according to the military’s Inter-Services Public Relations. The visit aimed to deepen defence, technology and industrial ties through partnerships and joint ventures.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
