Renewed Uzbekistan-Pakistan Partnership.

Byline: Muhammad Asif Noor

President of Uzbekistan Shavket Mirziyoyev visited Pakistan on his first visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Given the identical outlook of the states and shared membership of OIC and SCO, this visit is focused on deciding the Next Steps in the Strategic Partnership. The executive leadership of Pakistan and Uzbekistan held consultations on a range of prospects including media cooperation, tourism, sports, religion, environment and climate change. There are two very potential joining factors between Pakistan and Uzbekistan i.e. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The two countries having similar religious majority have by default identical culture, social norms and ideals which bring both states closer than ever. Uzbekistan and Pakistan carried out intensive consultations over tourism, culture, religion and sports. In this regard, an MOU has been signed between the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony of Pakistan for cooperation in multiple states areas including the promotion of pilgrimage tourism. Regional connectivity is another mutual interest of both partners for trade, communication, energy corridor and friendly environment.

The Westward extension of CPEC via Afghanistan directly reaches Uzbekistan providing potential opportunity for business, trade and investments. CPEC presents the comprehensive connectivity between Central and South Asia where Pakistan calls on all regional countries to become part of major geoeconomic shifts in the region. It is upto the countries including Pakistan and Uzbekistan to develop transportation corridors to their own benefit and the region at large. At the dead end of CPEC, there lies a Gwadar port which offers all-weather maritime access to Arabian sea. It increases the prospects of business and trade at an exponential rate. The business community of both countries is quite vibrant and actively working in coordination while generating revenue for respective states. The cooperation between the two communities has increased five times and continues to expand despite the epidemic. The trade volume between Pakistan and Uzbekistan increased by 50 percent in 2021 since last decade. From the dialogue between the two sides during this visit, it is expected that both partners would...