Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Uzbek-Pakistani business forum was held in Islamabad (Pakistan), which was attended by more than 150 representatives of the business communities of the two countries, as well as heads of key ministries, departments, industry associations and trade industrial chambers.

During the opening ceremony of the forum, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov and Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Trade and Investments Abdul Razzaq Dawood spoke. The heads of delegations noted the expanding nature of cooperation between the two states in a wide range of areas and industries and, in this context, stressed the relevance of deepening ties between Uzbek and Pakistani business circles.

It was announced that in 2021, a 50 percent growth in trade turnover was achieved, and after two months of this year, the volume of mutual trade exceeded the same indicator of last year by 70 percent. Successes in investment cooperation were also emphasized: over the past five years, the number of enterprises with the participation of Pakistani capital operating in Uzbekistan has increased almost 6 times.

The readiness of the governments of the two countries to actively cooperate to create favorable conditions for establishing direct cooperation between Uzbek and Pakistani entrepreneurs was announced, meaning the implementation of joint investment projects and the intensification of bilateral trade, taking into account the competitive advantages of the economies of the two countries. Significant potential for building up investment and trade cooperation in agriculture, textile, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, production of building materials and other areas was noted.

During the forum, presentations were organized by the heads of ministries, departments, industry associations and large companies of the two countries, in which the potential for cooperation was revealed in detail and promising projects were presented for further development. Practical aspects of cooperation and mechanisms of state support in the implementation of joint projects were already discussed during the "G2B" and "B2B" negotiations.

At the end of the forum, the heads of delegations of Uzbekistan and Pakistan expressed their commitment to further strengthening economic cooperation, establishing strong business contacts and providing comprehensive support to investors and entrepreneurs in the implementation of joint projects and initiatives.

As a result of the forum, trade contracts and bilateral agreements on the implementation of joint projects for a total of US$797 million were signed.