ISLAMABAD: Advisor to PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood and Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Pakistan Aybek Arif Usmanov on Tuesday discussed the upcoming visit of Pakistani trade delegation to Uzbekistan.
A Pakistani delegation, led by Abdul Razak Dawood, will visit Uzbekistan from 31st January 2021 to 4th February 2021. The visit is a follow-up to the visit of Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister Dr Sardor Umurzakov on 10th September 2020.
During that visit, a memorandum of understanding to establish a Joint Working Group on Trade and Economic Affairs was signed and it was decided that the first meeting of the Joint Working Group will be held in Tashkent at a mutually agreed time.
It was also agreed that possibilities of starting negotiations on a Pakistan-Uzbekistan Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) would be explored.
Apart from Dawood, the delegation will include commerce secretary along with senior officials from other related ministries and departments.
During the upcoming visit, matters pertaining to trade, especially the Pakistan-Uzbekistan PTA, would be discussed in detail.
Uzbekistan shares borders with Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. Improved connectivity and trade relations can open the doors for enhancing Pakistan’s exports to Uzbekistan and beyond which has a market of $ 90 billion.
In addition to trade, the establishment of rail links, banking relations, economic cooperation, maritime cooperation and investment would be discussed. The possibilities of cooperation in the fields of textile and pharmaceuticals would also be explored.
It is expected that a delegation from Afghanistan may also join Pakistan and Uzbekistan at Tashkent to culminate into a trilateral conference on trade and connectivity.
