WNAM REPORT: The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, held talks in a contracted format, with the participation of official delegations.
The meeting addressed various issues related to enhancing and strengthening the strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his sincere gratitude to the President of Uzbekistan for the warm and hospitable welcome.
The heads of state noted with great satisfaction the dynamic development of multifaceted cooperation in recent years.
Active political contacts and productive inter-parliamentary and inter-agency exchanges continue to develop.
In 2024, trade turnover exceeded $400 million, and the number of joint ventures reached 130. Trade houses have been opened in Karachi and Tashkent, and direct flights between Tashkent and Lahore have been resumed.
Significant progress has been made through meetings of the Intergovernmental Commission, business forums, and Uzbekistan’s national industrial exhibition.
During the negotiations, special attention was given to expanding trade and economic cooperation.
The importance of coordinated measures to increase trade turnover to $2 billion, in line with the adopted roadmap, was emphasized.
As priority tasks, the expansion of the range of goods under the Preferential Trade Agreement, mutual simplification of phytosanitary and quarantine requirements, customs procedures, harmonization of standards, integration of electronic trade platforms, access to procurement systems, improvement of interbank settlement mechanisms, and other initiatives were outlined.
Plans of leading companies for implementing cooperation projects in pharmaceuticals, electrical engineering, agriculture, agricultural machinery, geology and mineral resources, as well as the textile, leather, and other industries were reviewed.
To promote business and cultural ties between the regions, the President of Uzbekistan proposed hosting a Forum of the Regions of both countries in Uzbekistan.
The leaders of Uzbekistan and Pakistan paid special attention to strengthening transport connectivity and unlocking transit potential.
It was noted with satisfaction that freight volumes through the multimodal corridor “Uzbekistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan” have increased fivefold in recent years. To further expand cargo turnover, an agreement was reached on establishing a joint transport and logistics company.
Coordinating joint efforts to advance 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 Lahore.
The parties supported further expanding cultural, humanitarian, and tourism exchanges. In this context, they agreed to hold reciprocal Culture Weeks and presentations of tourism programs.
Views were also exchanged on key international and regional issues, emphasizing the importance of continued mutual support within the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and other multilateral platforms.
The President of Uzbekistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan emphasized the need to unite efforts in combating terrorism, radicalism, Islamophobia, and other contemporary security challenges.
To develop new areas of comprehensive cooperation, the leaders agreed to establish a Supreme Council of Strategic Partnership and hold its first meeting next year.
Following the high-level negotiations, a decision was made to develop and approve a joint roadmap to ensure the timely implementation of the agreements reached and signed.
