BUKHARA (Uzbekistan), July 17 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan has termed Pakistan’s relationship with Uzbekistan “an exciting beginning” of a journey of cooperation, linking the two nations closer.
“This is an exciting beginning. You will see the people-to-people, trade and political relationship growing stronger,” the prime minister told the Uzbek media in the historic city of Bukhara late Friday.
The prime minister said Uzbekistan and the Indian sub-continent had a historic connection as the descendants of Amir Taimur ruled the region for 300 years.
He said the upcoming rail project among Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan would connect the people of the areas and boost development.
Imran Khan and his delegation earlier visited the mausoleum of Bahauddin Naqshband, the founder of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, where they offered fateha.
The prime minister was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi, National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Minister for Information Technology Atif Khan.
The prime minister paid a two-day official visit to Uzbekistan from July 15-16 to represent Pakistan at the Central and South Asia Conference held in Tashkent, where he also held sideline meetings with the Uzbek leadership and other dignitaries. He concluded his trip by visiting the historic cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, where he visited the mausoleums of great Islamic scholars.
