TASHKENT, Feb 26: Pakistan and Uzbekistan and Wednesday vowed to take the volume of bilateral trade from current $400 million to $2 billion in the near future, besides agreeing to exploit the immense potential for cooperation in the fields of investment, connectivity and tourism.
\nThe bilateral ties were discussed in the \u201cfruitful\u201d one-on-one meeting and the delegation-level talks between President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was on a two-day visit here.
\nThe two leaders, addressing the joint press stakeout, told the media that both sides had agreed for the efforts to realize the \u201cdream\u201d project of Trans-Afghan Railway to connect Central Asia with South Asia, which the prime minister said would be a game changer for the region.<\/p>\n
Thanking the Uzbek side for warm hospitality, the prime minister said both countries shared the centuries-old bond rooted in a shared history and that the bilateral ties were moving in the right direction.
\n\u201cThe relations between our countries are moving in the right direction\u2014positively and speedily. You have played a pivotal role in strengthening this bond and converting it into relations that stand on investment and trade,\u201d he remarked.
\nThe prime minister spoke highly of the dynamism, leadership and transformation journey of President Mirziyoyev who turned around his country\u2019s economy by reducing poverty ratio from 42% in 2016 to 8% now and increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from $1.2 billion to $30 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely, it is a miracle. Miracles do not happen through fiery speeches or articulating wonderful quotes but through vision, dynamism, hard work, and honesty of purpose. All these qualities are embedded in your personality,\u201d he said.
\nHe also highlighted his government\u2019s efforts to stabilise the economy during the last one year by reducing inflation from 38% to 2.4%, interest rate from 22% to 12%, with surging exports and business moving forward.
\n\u201cThis is just the beginning and the start of the path to economic growth. This journey is not easy. We will be able to achieve macroeconomic stability, and the journey to progress is restarting in Pakistan,\u201d he said.
\nHe assured the Uzbek side of his government\u2019s \u201cfinest role\u201d in achieving the Trans-Afghan rail connectivity project.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Shehbaz told the media that both sides were willing to expand tourism through an increased number of flights and adding new destinations.
\nComing to the regional situation, he said both sides emphasized that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was vital for regional connectivity and peace. However, he said that Afghanistan\u2019s soil must not be allowed to be used by militant groups to attack any other country, including Pakistan.
\nHe told the media that some of his delegation members would stay in Tashkent to be joined by some more government officials from Islamabad later to take forward the discussions between the two sides for cooperation in areas including energy, mines, and Trans-Afghan railways.
\nHe also reiterated that Pakistan stood by the people of Gaza and believed in the two-state solution for an independent state of Palestine, as their rights were enshrined in UNSC resolutions.
\nHe also assured Pakistan\u2019s continuous support to the Kashmir people who had been struggling over the last seven decades for their right to self-determination.
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz invited President Mirziyoyev to visit Pakistan, which he accepted.
\nIn his remarks, President Mirziyoyev said that they had \u201ctruly productive\u201d discussions on cooperation in different directions.
\nCalling Pakistan a \u201ctrusted partner\u201d with growing reputation, he said the bilateral ties had developed dynamically.
\nHe also appreciated Prime Minister Shehbaz for his government\u2019s efforts and achievements for economic stability.
\nHe said Prime Minister Shehbaz\u2019s visit was \u201chistoric\u201d to mark a new chapter in bilateral relations.
\nHe said both sides reached a conclusion on the establishment of a High-Level Strategic Council and the relevant ministries and departments from both sides would give bi-monthly reports on the measures taken to promote cooperation.
\nHe said both sides had a similar approach on Afghanistan\u2019s social development and the Palestinian issue besides agreeing to continue supporting each other at multilateral organizations.
\nHe said while discussing the Trans-Afghan Railway project, it was agreed that a committee would be formed to look into the allied challenges and issues.
\n\u201cThis is our future. Trade will increase, and the flow of people will rise,\u201d he said.
\nCiting rich cultural heritage, he called for joint film production to exploit the potential and promoting cultural tourism and people-to-people contacts.
\nHe said both sides were ready to fill the gaps and convert commitments into actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TASHKENT, Feb 26: Pakistan and Uzbekistan and Wednesday vowed to take the volume of bilateral trade from current $400 million to $2 billion in the near future, besides agreeing to exploit the immense potential for cooperation in the fields of investment, connectivity and tourism. The bilateral ties were discussed in the \u201cfruitful\u201d one-on-one meeting and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":77603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77591"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77605,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77591\/revisions\/77605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}