Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 27 December, as part of the visit of the government delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, negotiations were held between the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Jamshid Khodjaev and the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif. The meeting was also attended by heads of a number of key ministries and departments of the two countries.

During the conversation, the strategic nature of bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and Pakistan, based on trust and mutual understanding between the leaders of the two countries, was emphasized, which received a powerful impetus for development during the visit of the Head of Government of Pakistan to Uzbekistan to participate in the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in September this year.

The process of implementing the agreements reached during the bilateral meeting of the Heads of the two states within the framework of the SCO Summit in Samarkand and the prospects for developing cooperation in trade, economic, investment, industrial, scientific and technical fields were discussed.

Attention was focused on the consistent growth in the volume of mutual trade, which has increased 5 times since 2016. In this context, the high potential of the two countries in the development of trade and economic relations and a multiple increase in the volume of mutual trade, which is largely facilitated by the Agreement on Transit Trade signed in March this year, is emphasized. The perspectives of intensifying the interaction of responsible ministries and departments on completion of the coordination and signing of the Agreement on Preferential Trade, a document that will allow bringing the trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Pakistan to US$500 million in the near future and up to US$1 billion within a few years, were noted.

As one of the priority areas for the development of relations, the prospects for intensifying joint efforts to implement large-scale regional transport and logistics projects were considered. The current state of work on technical and economic aspects, field research, financial, technical and organizational issues of promoting initiatives together with other countries of the region were discussed.

Following the meeting, a commitment was expressed to further develop multifaceted relations and maintain the dynamics of partnership through the intensification of direct contacts between the ministries, departments and business circles of the two countries, for which an agreement was reached to hold a regular meeting of the Uzbek-Pakistani Intergovernmental Commission in Tashkent in early 2023.