Uzbekistan President to visit Pakistan on March 3 to expand trade ties

Islamabad: President Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev is set to arrive in Pakistan on Thursday (March 3) to strengthen trade ties between the two countries.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s national security adviser held a meeting with the deputy secretary of Uzbekistan security council Babur Usmanov in Islamabad to discuss bilateral and regional issues. Usmanov is part of the Uzbek delegation led by the Uzbekistan president set to arrive in Islamabad on March 3.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry described the Uzbek president’s visit as a “historic moment” for Pakistan and Uzbekistan to come closer and expedite the implementation of the vision of the two countries to connect via Afghanistan.

The visit is aimed at expanding trade ties and regional connectivity. During the visit, the two countries would sign preferential and transit trade agreements to develop Pakistan’s economic ties with Central Asian states, the commerce ministry said.

The visit would also expedite the implementation process of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan mega railway project to improve regional trade and connectivity. The rail link is one of the designated rail corridors defined and planned under the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) region railways strategy. “This trans-Afghan railway project will provide access to the Pakistani seaports and will connect to the central Asian and Eurasian railway systems,” Pakistan railway minister Azam Khan Swati earlier said.

The $4.8 billion trans-Afghan railway line ‘Mazar-e-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar’ project comprises of 573-km long railway track and will connect Pakistan’s Peshawar city to Afghanistan’s cities of Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif all the way to Uzbekistan. The trilateral project connecting will include both passenger and cargo high-speed trains.