Pakistan to facilitate Uzbek access to ports of Gwadar, Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday Pakistan would facilitate Uzbekistan to get access to its seaports of Gwadar and Karachi in a bid to enhance regional connectivity and trade.

In a meeting with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Abdlaziz Kamilov at the PM House, Khan said Pakistan offered a shortest route to international seas to all Central Asian states, including Uzbekistan, and could prove as a gateway to landlocked Central Asia.

The Prime Minister expressed Pakistan’s resolve to forge closer ties with Uzbekistan and other Central Asian states in the areas of trade, investment, energy, and people-to-people exchanges.

Expressing appreciation for the proposed trans-Afghan railway project between Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, he underscored Pakistan’s commitment to supporting all efforts for the earliest realisation of the important connectivity project.

Khan fondly recalled his interactions with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Beijing and Bishkek and reiterated his invitation to the Uzbek president to visit Pakistan at the earliest convenience.

Underlining the historic and civilizational links between the two countries, the Prime Minister said Pakistan highly valued its close fraternal ties with Uzbekistan and wished to deepen bilateral cooperation in all areas.

He particularly emphasised that enhanced trade and regional connectivity were the cornerstones of economic growth and development. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast support to the Afghan peace process, stressing the importance of negotiated political solution. The Prime Minister hoped that the Afghan sides will seize this historic opportunity to work together constructively and secure an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive negotiated political settlement.

In the context of South Asia, Khan underscored that durable peace and economic development in the region hinged on peaceful resolution of long-standing unresolved disputes. Kamilov conveyed cordial greetings of President Mirziyoyev and reiterated Uzbekistan’s commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in diverse fields.