Uzbekistan looks to Pakistani ports.

Byline: Mubarak Zeb Khan

ISLAMABAD -- Uzbekistan on Thursday formally sought Pakistan's support for accession to the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA) in a bid to utilise Karachi and Gwadar ports for its trade operations.

The formal request was made by Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Sardor Umurzakov during a video conference with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood. Uzbekistan's Ambassador to Pakistan Furqat Sidikov also joined the meeting held at the Ministry of Commerce in Islamabad.

The QTTA is a transit trade deal among Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to facilitate the passage of goods and traffic. A road project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will provide access to China and the Central Asian States to Pakistani ports.

Responding to the request, Dawood assured Pakistan's support for Uzbekistan in QTTA.

Pakistan plays a central role in the QTTA which is believed to be an alternative route bypassing Afghanistan and relying on the Karakoram Highway via China to reach Central Asian States.

Uzbekistan also sought the establishment of Joint Working Group for trade and investment cooperation.

An official statement following the meeting said that...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT