Pakistan, Uzbekistan set $2B trade target, sign raft of deals

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (MNTV) — Pakistan and Uzbekistan agreed to raise bilateral trade to $2 billion within five years, formalizing the goal with a protocol signed during Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Islamabad this week.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Mirziyoyev signed the protocol to enhance trade and economic cooperation and witnessed the signing of multiple accords covering defense, agriculture, industry, technology, culture, education, disaster management and pharmaceuticals.

Under the protocol, the two sides will establish a joint working group to develop an action plan identifying priority sectors to expand trade through mutual consultations.

Among the key agreements, Pakistan’s Drug Regulatory Authority and Uzbekistan’s Agency for Pharmaceutical Industry Development signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation in pharmaceutical products and regulatory functions. Separate MoUs were concluded on sports and physical culture, information technology and digital cooperation, and agriculture and food security.

To boost commerce, the two countries expanded the list of goods under their Preferential Trade Agreement and agreed to establish a Pakistan-Uzbekistan Interregional Forum to promote regional and business-to-business links.

In defense, the sides signed an action plan for cooperation, along with agreements on ecology, climate change and disaster risk reduction, and mutual assistance in disaster management. An accord was also signed to combat illicit trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances.

Additional agreements covered plant protection and phytosanitary standards for agricultural exports, as well as maritime cooperation, including preferential port arrangements at Karachi, Gwadar and Port Qasim.

The signing ceremony was held at the Prime Minister’s House, with ministers and senior officials from both countries in attendance.