Pakistan, Uzbekistan to form JWG

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Uzbekistan have agreed to form a joint working group to capitalise on the former’s strategic location to connect the landlocked central Asian republics with the world.

The decision was made during a meeting of Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi with a delegation led by the Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov.

The Uzbek delegation included First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade and Investments, Deputy Minister of Transport and Chairman of Uzbekistan Airways JSC.

The meeting discussed establishment of trade routes and utilisation of Pakistani seaports to connect central Asian republics to the world. The joint working group will be tasked to discuss the modalities for the execution of the regional connectivity plan.

It was informed that Pakistan has the shortest and cheapest route to the world, hence making it a gateway to central, south and southeast Asia.

Uzbekistan, a landlocked central Asian republic, has export markets in gulf countries, southeast Asia, Europe and Africa. The cheapest route is through Pakistani ports.

A dedicated terminal for goods from the Central Asian States and ease in transit after the completion of ML1 project was discussed during the meeting. The project is to rehabilitate and improve the existing ML-1 railway connecting Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. Upgrades will double the existing rail track from Karachi to Peshawar as part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Under the project, the existing 2,655km track will be upgraded. The speed of passenger trains is expected to increase from 65/110 km per hour to 165 km per hour and line capacity will increase from 34 to 137/171 trains each way per day.

The meeting also proposed a dedicated shipping fleet for central Asian exports. The trade volume of Uzbekistan and Pakistan has increased significantly in the past couple of years and with establishing an efficient trade corridor it will increase manifold.