ISLAMABAD, May 8 (APP):Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said that Pakistan desired to enhance its ties with Uzbekistan in multiple sectors, including trade and commerce.
The deputy prime minister discussed bilateral relations in a meeting with Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, who is on a two-day official visit to Pakistan.
On his arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ishaq Dar received the guest, which followed their one-on-one meeting.
The deputy prime minister said that Pakistan and Uzbekistan enjoyed strong and friendly relations.
The Uzbek foreign minister expressed his pleasure in visiting Pakistan, saying they considered Pakistan their second home.
In the meeting, the two sides underscored the cultural, civilizational and historical ties between Pakistan and Uzbekistan which provided a solid foundation for robust partnership in multiple domains.
They also expressed satisfaction at close security and defence cooperation and robust engagement at multilateral fora such as the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
The two sides reaffirmed commitment to early implementation of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railways project, which would give a boost to bilateral and regional trade, and become a bridge between South and Central Asia.
They discussed at length economic cooperation, trade, investment and connectivity between Pakistan and Uzbekistan. They noted that following operationalization of the Transit Trade Agreement, bilateral trade had increased 1.4 times during the previous year and had the potential to reach the targets set during the last Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) held in Tashkent in February 2023.
They agreed to identify new areas of economic cooperation and emphasized the importance of a liberal visa regime especially for the business community to promote linkages and people-to-people contacts.
