ISLAMABAD: Uzbekistan Ambassador Oybek Usmanov on Saturday said that Uzbekistan and Pakistan are not only genuine partners but brotherly cooperation has been elevated to a level of strategical partnership and both countries will achieve US$ one billion trade and industrial cooperation roadmap.
Addressing the participants of a reception held to mark the 33rd Anniversary of the Independence Day of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ambassador Usmanov congratulated Pakistani nation on Army and Martyrs Day.
“Our Ministries of Defense are regularly holding Staff Talks on military cooperation and according to Agreement on military-technical cooperation this year 1st meeting of the Joint Working Commission was held in Islamabad. The Uzbekistan and Pakistan enjoying active cooperation in the sphere of military training as well as holding multilateral exercises on combatting terrorism,” he said.
Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Dean of diplomatic corps Ambassador Otajan Mavlamov, Parliamentarians, military and civil officers and officials from diplomatic corps attended the reception.
The Ambassador expressed gratitude to President Asif Ali Zardari, PM Shahbaz Sharif for great support to connectivity strategy of Uzbekistan, saying that in last 3 years, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev more than 9 times has held personal interaction with his Pakistani counterparts the PM Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir, strengthening the trade and industrial, technological projects as well as the active military cooperation between the two countries.
“By our joint efforts we have increased upto half billion of bilateral trade via brotherly Afghanistan based on Transit and Preferential trade agreements. Pakistan (and Turkey are) the only countries with whom Uzbekistan has reached such level of trade and logistics cooperation, Alhamdulillah,” he added.
“Only this year we been able to arrange more than a 50 high-level meetings more than hundred ministerial summits. In Tashkent and Islamabad Samarqand and Lahore, Bukhara and Karachi Peshawar and Termiz we gained most remarkable results – as the people to people contacts, B2B forums strengthening region to region connectivity,” he added.
He said that President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his address on the 33nd Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan has stressed that large-scale work carried out in recent years.
“Uzbekistan GDP increased by 6.4% in 2024 and amounted to $101 billion, foreign direct investments has increased by 37% and amounted to $22 billion as well as foreign trade turnover with 186 countries increased by 8.5%,” he said.
He said the government of Uzbekistan is proudly serving to people in strengthening the political stability, the economic development and the cooperation with foreign partners.
“We all diplomats based here in Islamabad are witnessing that same wise approach and new Development Strategy is now been implemented in Pakistan under the leadership of PM Shehbaz Sharif,” he added.
“Our Leaders underscored the importance of further accelerating regional connectivity in the fields of textiles, pharmaceutical production, renewable energy, agriculture, IT logistics and many other sectors. Particular attention of our nations and brotherly neighbor Afghanistan is the construction project of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway,” he added.
He said in Tashkent, a new project office was established and recently the Government of Pakistan hosted in Islamabad trilateral meeting of the project office. Three countries have signed the Protocol upon the feasibility studies, financing and construction of this game changer project, he added.
“Let me express my confidence that every next year meetings will be resulted with new significant inputs for the further re-connectivity between Pakistan and Uzbekistan. What a honor and exceptional privilege for me to be posted for the third time in this great country Pakistan and be a humble servant of the re-connectivity between our two regions and nations,” he concluded.
