Leaders of Uzbekistan and Pakistan identified priority areas for expanding strategic partnership

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif held talks in a narrow format and with the participation of official delegations, the press service of the head of our state reports.

A full range of issues on further expansion and strengthening of Uzbek-Pakistani strategic partnership relations was considered.

At the beginning of the conversation, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif expressed sincere gratitude to the President of our country for the warm and cordial welcome.

The heads of state noted with deep satisfaction the dynamic development of multifaceted cooperation in recent years.

Active political contacts, fruitful inter-parliamentary and interdepartmental exchanges continue.

In 2024, trade turnover exceeded $400 million, the number of joint ventures reached 130. Trading houses were opened in Karachi and Tashkent. Direct flights between Tashkent and Lahore were resumed.

The meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, business forums and the national industrial exhibition of Uzbekistan were held productively.

During the talks, special attention was paid to the expansion of trade and economic cooperation.

The importance of taking coordinated measures to increase the volume of trade turnover to 2 billion dollars based on the adopted “road map” was emphasized.

The priority tasks were defined as expanding the range of goods within the framework of the Agreement on Preferential Trade, mutual simplification of phytosanitary and quarantine requirements, customs procedures, convergence of standards, integration of electronic trading platforms, ensuring access to the procurement system, improving interbank settlement mechanisms and others.

The plans of leading companies for the implementation of cooperation projects in the field of pharmaceuticals, electrical engineering, agricultural sector, agricultural machinery, geology and mineral resources, textile, leather and other industries were considered.

In order to stimulate business and cultural contacts between the regions, the head of our state proposed to hold the Forum of Regions of the two countries in Uzbekistan.

The leaders of Uzbekistan and Pakistan separately focused on the issues of strengthening transport connectivity and unlocking transit potential.

It was noted with satisfaction that over the past few years, the volume of cargo transportation through the multimodal corridor “Uzbekistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan” has increased 5 times. In order to further increase the volume of cargo turnover, an agreement was reached to create a joint transport and logistics company.

The importance of coordinating joint efforts for the practical promotion of the Trans-Afghan Railway construction project was also emphasized.

An agreement was reached to hold the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission in July this year in the city of Lahore.

The parties advocated for further expansion of cultural, humanitarian and tourist exchange. In this context, it was agreed to hold mutual Culture Weeks and presentations of tourist programs.

An exchange of views on the current international and regional agenda also took place. The importance of continuing mutual support within the framework of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the SCO and other multilateral structures was noted.

The President of Uzbekistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan emphasized the need to combine efforts in the fight against terrorism, radicalism, Islamophobia and other modern security challenges.

In order to develop new areas of comprehensive cooperation, it was agreed to create a Supreme Council for Strategic Partnership and hold its first meeting next year.

Following the high-level talks, a decision was made to develop and approve a joint roadmap for the timely implementation of the agreements reached and signed.