ISLAMABAD: There is a huge potential for trade growth between Pakistan and Uzbekistan in various sectors once the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) is finalised.
Adviser to PM on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood said this on Wednesday while addressing the ‘Pakistan-Uzbekistan Business Forum’ along with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov.
The adviser hoped that the promotion of trade between the two countries would increase regional trade, besides providing trade connectivity to the Russian Federation and European markets. Dawood said that the PTA would increase bilateral trade between Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
The signing of the agreement would take place during the Uzbek president’s visit to Pakistan on March 3 to 4, to facilitate bilateral trade and transit trade to boost trade ties between the two countries and also enhance the connectivity with Afghanistan, the adviser said.
Dawood said President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev would pay a visit to Pakistan to discuss ways to improve the bilateral economic and trade relations and also would sign various bilateral trade agreements.
He said that a strong economic bloc could be established among Pakistan and Afghanistan and the five Central Asian countries, which would enable trade in goods to reach Russia and European countries.
He said that there was a possibility of mutual agreement for smooth transactions between the central banks of the two countries. In addition, the facilitation of transit trade between the two countries will be discussed.
An agreement has already been reached in that regard and now transit trade trucks would be able to supply goods between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan, which would boost trade in the region, Razak said. Similarly, the promotion of transit trade and the free moments of trucks would usher in a new era of trade promotion in the region, he said.
Meanwhile, the trade minister of Uzbekistan said that Pakistan and Uzbekistan bilateral trade increased by 70 percent in last two months of January and February. He urged for industrial and investment cooperation between the two countries and said that business communities from both needed to jointly work for increasing the bilateral trade between.
He said that the 350 million markets of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asian countries could play a significant role in world trade. The deputy prime minister said that leadership on both sides agreed to the promotion of bilateral trade and regional economic integration.
He said that after the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan in July 2021, new avenues of mutual relations and cooperation were opened between the two countries, which also opened the way for the development of trade and economic relations. He said that the traders and business community of both the countries had to play their due role in promoting trade in the region.
In that regard, the government of Uzbekistan would provide all possible facilities to Pakistani traders, he added.
He said that the government of Uzbekistan would take steps to make legal and financial and visa issues as easy as possible for the business community. He said that the business community of the two sides could share their mutual experiences and get the benefits from the experience of each other for increasing the economic connectivity.
Meanwhile five memoranda of understanding were signed between the private sector of the two sides to enhance cooperation in different potential sectors including textile, fertilizer, weaving and dyeing, construction and menthol supplies.
