LAHORE: Uzbek Ambassador to Pakistan Furqat Sidiqov on Wednesday said that Uzbek Airlines would soon resume direct flights between Lahore and Tashkent twice a week to help businessmen from both sides to interact more frequently.
During a meeting at the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) here on Wednesday, he said there was an immense scope for increasing bilateral trade and instituting joint ventures between Pakistan and Uzbekistan as both countries were strategic partners.
The ambassador said that Uzbekistan was among the fastest growing economies in Central Asia, adding that the country has a well-developed indigenous production of cotton-related machinery.
The two countries could look at the establishment of joint production facilities in this regard, he added.
Sidiqov was leading a delegation comprising of Uzbek diplomats with an agenda to follow up on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent visit to Uzbekistan.
He said that following the prime minister’s visit, the Uzbek government had constituted a special working group to increase bilateral trade between the two countries and explore avenues to enhance economic cooperation.
He said a special working group under the leadership of the Uzbek minister for industries will visit Pakistan in July 2016.
He also expressed his country’s interest in investing renewable energy projects in Pakistan, especially solar energy.
PBIT Chairman Muzaffer Miraj Khwaja assured the ambassador that full details of energy-related projects in Punjab will be shared with the Embassy and complete facilitation will also be provided by the PBIT to Uzbek investors interested in Punjab’s energy sector.
