PM Shehbaz felicitates Uzbek President on his re-election

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on his re-election in the presidential elections, ARY News reported 

During a telephonic conversation on Wednesday, he termed re-election of President Mirziyoyev as the reiteration of the confidence of the Uzbek people in his leadership.

Underscoring the importance attached by Pakistan to bilateral relations with Uzbekistan, he noted with satisfaction the operationalization of the Preferential Trade Agreement and the Uzbekistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement.

Recalling their previous interactions in Samarkand and Astana, the two leaders discussed the prospects of accelerating regional development and agreed on the need to further expand bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, connectivity, agriculture, IT, textiles, and logistics.

Read more: Pakistan, Uzbekistan sign $1bn trade deal

Uzbekistan held a presidential election that is set to hand incumbent Shavkat Mirziyoyev a third term as head of the gas-rich Central Asian state.

The 65-year-old Mirziyoyev promised to open up his country, a tightly controlled former Soviet republic, to foreign investment and tourism.

He served as prime minister under his hardline predecessor Islam Karimov before winning his first term in 2016 and getting re-elected in 2021.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan and Uzbekistan signed $1 billion trade agreement at Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) to increase bilateral trade between the two countries.