Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening economic ties, with leaders from both countries endorsing new frameworks aimed at boosting trade, investment and regional connectivity during high-level engagements in Islamabad, according to official statements and state media.
The renewed emphasis reflects a shared effort to move bilateral relations toward concrete economic outcomes. Officials said the two sides are working toward a target of increasing bilateral trade to $2 billion by 2029, alongside measures to facilitate private-sector engagement, industrial collaboration and people-to-people exchanges. Speaking at the Pakistan–Uzbekistan Business Forum, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said future relations would be assessed through trade volumes, investment projects and institutional partnerships, Radio Pakistan reported.
Both governments also announced steps to formalise cooperation. Officials said a protocol was signed to establish a working group tasked with drafting a five-year roadmap covering trade, investment, information technology, agriculture, and research collaboration. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who is on an official visit to Pakistan, urged businesses from both countries to explore untapped trade potential and offered tax incentives for Pakistani investors, according to state media. Tourism and joint ventures in manufacturing and services were also highlighted as priority areas.
In parallel meetings, President Asif Ali Zardari said Pakistan was committed to deepening cooperation with Uzbekistan across trade, connectivity, security and cultural exchanges. Officials said the leaders discussed progress on direct air links and regional connectivity initiatives, including the Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan railway project, which both sides view as central to expanding transit trade and regional integration.
The two countries also issued a joint declaration reaffirming commitments to enhance cooperation in trade, transport, defence and multilateral forums, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said. The statement welcomed progress under existing preferential and transit trade agreements, endorsed plans to operationalise multimodal transport arrangements and confirmed the establishment of new coordination mechanisms to oversee bilateral projects. Both sides said the agreements and understandings reached during the visit were intended to further institutionalise the Pakistan–Uzbekistan partnership and support long-term economic collaboration.