ISLAMABAD: Uzbekistan Ambassador Furqat A Sidiqov has said that his country was keen to enhance trade relations with Pakistan as both countries have great potential to cooperate with each other in many areas including energy, agriculture, construction, mineral resources and others.
He said this while talking to a delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) that called on him, led by President Sheikh Amir Waheed on Tuesday.
Furqat A Sidiqov said that Uzbekistan was a gateway for Pakistan to get access to the 300 million market of Central Asia. He said Uzbekistan was very much interested to have Pakistan’s pharmaceutical products that were quite competitive in terms of price and quality.
He said Uzbekistan has free trade agreements with CIS countries and Pakistani pharma industrialists should make a direct investment or enter into joint ventures in Uzbekistan to penetrate the Central Asian market.
He identified agriculture, food processing, textiles, automobile, construction & building material, chemicals, oil and gas, mining, metallurgy, electrical and electronics, and education as other potential areas of mutual cooperation between both countries.
He said private sectors of both countries should form a joint business council that would help in promoting bilateral trade. He said that ICCI should form a sector-specific delegation for Uzbekistan and its embassy would extend all possible cooperation to make its visit successful.
Speaking at the occasion, Sheikh Amir Waheed, said that Uzbekistan was an energy-rich country and it should cooperate with Pakistan in overcoming its energy problem.
He said Pakistan could export many products to Uzbekistan including fruits and vegetables, leather goods, meat and meat products, fertilizers and stressed that both countries should encourage frequent exchange of trade missions to explore all untapped areas of mutual collaboration.
He said Uzbekistan is planning to set up factories of cable manufacturing and ice cream which is encouraging. He said that Pakistan is a huge consumer market while many sectors of its economy were opened for foreign investment and stressed that more Uzbek investors should visit Pakistan to explore opportunities for investment and joint ventures.
