ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Uzbekistan have agreed to form a joint working group (JWG) for future coordination in connection with “access to Pakistani seaports”.
This was agreed upon when Uzbekistan Railways Deputy Chairman Akmal Kamalov along with a delegation called on Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi on Wednesday.
The delegation apprised the minister of their visit to the ports in Karachi and Gwadar, and discussed the way forward for cargo transportation.
Uzbekistan, which currently relies on Iranian seaport of Bandar Abbas for external trade, is exploring other options and is prioritising Pakistani ports because of short distance, being more economical and due to some political considerations. Uzbekistan is working with Pakistan on the development of two options — the first is the Trans-Afghan railway project while the second is the road route via China.
Last month, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan had signed a roadmap in Tashkent for the construction of almost 600km of Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway line. The project, which is expected to take five years for completion at an estimated cost of $4.8 billion, enjoys the backing of international lending agencies including the World Bank.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan has been desirous of acceding to the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA), an agreement between China, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to facilitate transit traffic and trade. Pakistan has been supporting Uzbekistan in this regard also. The road project under this agreement would provide an alternative link between Pakistan and Central Asia while bypassing Afghanistan through the Karakoram Highway which connects Gilgit-Baltistan to China’s Xinjiang region and further on to Central Asia.
