Pakistan and Uzbekistan sign multiple accords to strengthen bilateral ties

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Uzbekistan have signed several important agreements aimed at bolstering cooperation across various sectors, including defense, agriculture, trade, industry, culture, education, disaster management, and pharmaceuticals. The accords were signed during the two-day state visit of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, who arrived in Islamabad at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The signing ceremony, held at the Prime Minister’s House, was attended by both leaders, who witnessed the exchange of documents between officials and ministers from both countries. Among the key agreements was a bilateral trade protocol designed to increase trade volumes to $2 billion, according to APP Pakistan.

Key agreements signed

These agreements were related to various sectors like pharmacy, sports, trade and industry, defense, climate change and disaster management, narcotics control, information technology, agriculture and food security, maritime cooperation, cultural and educational cooperation, and city partnerships.

Related to pharmacy, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Pakistan’s Drug Regulatory Authority and Uzbekistan’s Agency for Pharmaceutical Industry Development to enhance cooperation in pharmaceuticals and regulatory practices.

In sports, the Pakistan Sports Board and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Sports signed an MoU on cooperation in sports and physical culture.

In the area of trade and industry, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Uzbek Minister of Investments, Industry, and Trade Laziz Kudratov signed a Protocol on the Expansion of the List of Goods under the Preferential Trade Agreement. Additionally, an Agreement to establish the Pakistan–Uzbekistan Interregional Forum was concluded to foster regional and business-to-business cooperation.

In the defense sector, an Action Plan for Defense Cooperation was signed between Pakistan’s Minister of Defence, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Defence Shukhrat Khalmukhammedov.

In the area of climate change and disaster management, the two sides signed MoUs on cooperation in ecology, climate change, and disaster risk reduction, alongside a pact on cooperation in disaster management.

Related to narcotics control, an Agreement on Combating Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and their Precursors was signed by Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhary, and Uzbekistan’s Foreign Policy Advisor, Abdulaziz Kamilov.

Another MoU was signed between Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Digital Technologies to promote collaboration in digital infrastructure, innovation, and technology exchange.

Likewise, a cooperation agreement was signed between Pakistan’s Ministry of National Food Security and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, along with protocols on plant protection and phytosanitary standards for agricultural exports.

Another MoU to enhance maritime trade and establish preferential port arrangements at Pakistan’s ports, Karachi, Gwadar, and Qasim, was also signed.

Similarly, agreements were signed to preserve and promote cultural heritage, alongside partnerships between academic institutions such as the University of Peshawar and Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies.

The MoUs also included fostering cooperation between the city administrations of Peshawar and Termez, Islamabad and Samarkand, as well as the establishment of an Uzbekistan–Pakistan Joint Business Council between the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and its Uzbek counterpart.