Pakistan, Uzbekistan vow to increase bilateral trade

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Wednesday agreed on the importance of further increasing bilateral trade and investment through partnership between the public and private sectors.

The countries decided to involve the relevant chambers of commerce, and export development and investment promotion agencies during the sixth meeting of the Uzbek-Pakistani Intergovernmental Commission on Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation in Tashkent, according to a statement.

They decided to attract leading companies in pharmaceuticals, textile, leather, production of construction materials and agriculture industries.

Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment Razak Dawood co-chaired the meeting.

Increasing the frequency of official visits and bilateral meetings (virtual and / or physical) between representatives of the respective private sectors to explore major development projects and investment opportunities was a highlight of the meeting of the intergovernmental commission.

Both countries exchanged information on the results of socio-economic development in recent years in Uzbekistan and Pakistan. In addition, future prospects for the development of bilateral trade and economic, investment and scientific-technical cooperation between the countries were also highlighted. The parties decided to hold regular meetings of the intergovernmental commission on an annual basis and hold the next meeting in Islamabad. Specific dates will be negotiated through diplomatic channels in the near future.

Bilateral trade is currently negligible despite big potential.

“Pakistan’s potential exports to Uzbekistan are $9.14 million while the potential imports from Uzbekistan are $6.98 billion. Major exports to Pakistan include cotton, plastics, salts and earthly stones, and vegetables. Major imports from Pakistan are pharmaceutical products, photography and cinematography equipment, and other various textile and agricultural products,” Pakistan Business Council said in an estimate.

The first-ever shipment from Uzbekistan under the convention on the international transport of goods for traffic-in-transit across the border reached Pakistan in May. A cargo vehicle from Uzbekistan crossed the Afghan transit route in two days and reached the Torkham checkpoint in Peshawar, according to the ministry of commerce. After the completion of customs clearance, the truck will reach the importer in Faisalabad.

The vehicle transports from Uzbekistan processed leather products (wet blue) for Pakistani leather factories.

The customs convention on the international transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets (TIR convention) came into force in March 1978 and it replaced the original Transport Internationaux Routier (TIR) of 1959. Pakistan became a member of TIR convention in 2017 and now the convention has 68 contracting parties including China, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and all Central Asian Republics.