Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In Islamabad, the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov met with the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Imran Khan.

During the conversation, the current state and prospects for expanding bilateral cooperation in priority areas were discussed. It was noted that the meeting of the leaders of states, held in Tashkent within the framework of the High-Level International Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Interconnection. Challenges and Opportunities” gave a new impetus to the development of the strategic partnership between the two states.

Discussing the broad agenda of Uzbek-Pakistani cooperation, the parties paid special attention to measures to further increase investment, trade, economic, transport and logistics cooperation.

It was noted that against the backdrop of growing indicators of economic partnership, Uzbekistan and Pakistan currently have significant untapped potential for increasing trade turnover, increasing the number of jointly implemented investment projects and deepening industrial cooperation. Thus, despite the negative consequences of the pandemic in 2021, the countries managed to increase the volume of mutual trade by 50 percent, and the number of enterprises with Pakistani capital operating in Uzbekistan has grown almost 6 times over the past few years.

The parties welcomed the success achieved in the implementation of joint projects in the pharmaceutical industry and the production of building materials. At the same time, it was announced that the parties are intensively working to intensify investment and trade and economic cooperation in the areas of light industry, agriculture, healthcare and other areas. Mutual readiness was expressed for joint steps to promote all existing issues, in particular, those related to the agreement on the Preferential Trade Agreement and the implementation of the Joint Action Plan for the Practical Implementation of the Transit Trade Agreement.

Special attention was paid to the project for the construction of the trans-Afghan railway "Termez - Mazar-i-Sharif - Kabul - Peshawar" and further steps towards its implementation. The parties emphasized the importance of this initiative for stimulating economic development and building up the transport and transit potential of the region and outlined their mutual commitment to the implementation of the previously reached agreements.

The issues of expanding interregional cooperation were also considered. The parties welcomed the visit of the governor of the Pakistani province of Punjab to Bukhara and Namangan regions in February this year and expressed their readiness to implement the agreements reached in the fields of industry and education. The prospects of establishing bilateral relations between the cities of Termez (Uzbekistan) and Peshawar (Pakistan), as well as between the Surkhandarya region of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were also noted.

As a result of the meeting, further steps were outlined and agreed on to develop bilateral cooperation in the framework of the discussed areas.