On September 10 this year, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan S. Umurzakov met with Adviser to the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Trade, Textile Industry and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood dedicated to a set of issues on economic partnership during the visit of the Government Delegation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

During the meeting, the parties indicated a mutual commitment to implement existing agreements aimed at the comprehensive strengthening of Uzbek-Pakistani cooperation. The participants agreed on the next meetings of the Uzbek-Pakistani Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, as well as the Uzbek-Pakistani Business Council and Business Forum involving business circles of the two countries in November this year in Tashkent.

Considering the significant potential of investment cooperation, the participants discussed prospects for the sustainable mechanisms to establish bilateral investment relations and step-by-step creation of joint Uzbek-Pakistani enterprises in the textile, leather, pharmaceutical, and agricultural sectors, agricultural engineering, and mining. In this regard, they agreed to have G2B negotiations in the near future.

During the dialogue, the participants expressed mutual interest in the increase of mutual trade by expanding the supply of products demanded in the markets of the two countries. Here, they emphasized the importance of a solid international treaty framework for bilateral cooperation and agreed to work out the signing of an Agreement on Preferential Trade, as well as to accelerate the elaboration and signing of an intergovernmental Agreement on the Recognition of the Results of Product Conformity Assessment.

They also considered the prospects to create an Uzbek-Pakistani investment and logistics trading house in Tashkent focused on transportation of Uzbek export goods to Pakistan and delivery of Pakistani goods to Uzbekistan, as well as construction of its branch in the form of a logistics center in Termez. Besides, this trading house will be able to provide advisory and legal assistance to potential investors in the implementation of joint projects,  as well as support exporters of the two countries in finding markets and sales channels.

Following the meeting, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation providing for the creation of a permanent joint working group, where the parties will work out issues of cooperation in three areas, i.e. trade and investment, transport and logistics under the financial sector. The working group will develop a Road Map of cooperation in priority areas to be signed during the upcoming meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission.