Uzbekistan's deputy prime minister arrives in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Elyor Ganiev on Monday landed in Islamabad on a two days official visit to Pakistan.

The visiting dignitary was received by the foreign office officials as his plane landed at the Nur Khan airbase.

The Uzbek deputy prime minister is accompanied by a high level delegation including deputy minister for Investment and Foreign Trade, Transport and other senior officials.

Elyor Ganiev will hold talks with Pakistani leadership on entire spectrum of bilateral relations. The talks will focus on discussing ways and means to further bolster the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

Mr Ganiew is also scheduled to met Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and secretaries of Pakistan Railways, Planning Division, National Food Security, Health and Trade and Commerce during his visit.

Back in the month of February, Uzbekistan had granted visa-free entry to citizens of 45 countries to boost tourism, which the government views as vital for economic growth.

The countries benefiting from a 30-day visa waiver that went into force on Friday include the majority of European countries including Britain as well as Australia, Canada, Argentina and Chile. The United States is a notable exception.

The impoverished ex-Soviet country had made tourism a priority to reduce its dependence on commodity exports.