ISLAMABAD:Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Wednesday agreed to finalize bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) within three months, which will become a legal impetus for further increase in trade turnover between both sides.
Meanwhile, both sides have agreed to form Joint Working Groups on Agriculture, Information Technology, Education and Mineral sectors to boost bilateral cooperation, said a news release issued here.
The sixth meeting of the Uzbek-Pakistani Intergovernmental Commission on
Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation (hereinafter – IGC) was held in Tashkent.
The IGC meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Investments and Foreign trade Sardor Umurzakov from the Uzbekistan side and Adviser to Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood from Pakistani side.
Umarzakov thanked Pakistan for taking the relationship with Uzbekistan to a strategic partnership level.
It agreed that trans-Afghan corridor which connected Uzbekistan and Pakistan would play an important role for enhancing bilateral trade between the two countries.
The parties agreed to deepen partnership in the field of industrial cooperation, including by organizing joint ventures in the field of textile industry, assembly of agricultural machinery, processing and packaging of fruit and vegetable products.
It was settled to deepen cooperation in energy and mineral sector, agriculture, transportation and communication, labor, education, tourism, science and technology, technoparks, housing and communal services, intercity collaborations, standards, meteorology, culture and youth affairs.
Parties recognized the importance of closer collaboration for post-COVID recovery to sustainably recover through technology, innovation and economic partnership, aiming at increased economic diversification, sustainable growth, building supply chain resilience, and robust regulatory environments.
It was agreed to develop interbank cooperation to create favorable conditions for the further development of trade.
Meanwhile, two countries agreed to organize Uzbek-Pakistani specialized exhibitions (Made in Uzbekistan/Made in Pakistan) in Tashkent and Islamabad to promote a wide range of export goods and to facilitate attraction of leading companies in pharmaceuticals, textile, and leather, production of construction materials and agriculture industries and transport and logistics services of both countries.
Both the sides agreed to expedite the implementation of the project.
The co-chairs expressed satisfaction on holding the inaugural Joint Business Council meeting on the sidelines of Joint Ministerial Commission meeting.