Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Monday agreed to accelerate cooperation in trade, investment, connectivity and sectoral partnerships, as Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan held detailed talks with Uzbekistan’s Minister for Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov in Islamabad.
Welcoming the Uzbek delegation, Jam Kamal Khan said Pakistan–Uzbekistan engagement has intensified significantly over the past two years through frequent high-level contacts and institutional follow-up, stressing that the priority now is to translate opportunities into tangible outcomes by addressing gaps in logistics, business linkages and implementation.
He emphasized the need for streamlined trade and investment coordination and reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support for Uzbekistan across trade development initiatives.
Kudratov thanked Pakistan for hosting the delegation and said both sides were preparing for an important upcoming high-level visit from Uzbekistan, which he expressed confidence would mark another milestone in bilateral relations.
Highlighting improving trade indicators, he said bilateral trade grew by around 10 percent last year, with Uzbekistan’s imports from Pakistan increasing by about 12 percent and Uzbek exports to Pakistan rising by around 8 percent. He underlined the need to balance and scale trade, setting a target of $2 billion in bilateral trade through deeper industrial cooperation and new sectoral collaboration.
Trade facilitation and market access featured prominently in the discussions. The Uzbek side appreciated progress on the preferential trade framework, including expansion of the product coverage list from 34 to 92 items, and expressed interest in gradually extending cooperation into services and investment-led arrangements.
Jam Kamal Khan welcomed the forward movement on trade arrangements and stressed that sustained implementation, supported by business-to-business engagement, would be essential to translate frameworks into increased shipments, contracts and joint ventures.
Investment and industrial cooperation were also reviewed, with Uzbekistan noting that 228 Pakistani companies are currently operating there, while 80 new companies were registered over the past year. Both sides discussed expanding cooperation in priority sectors including food security, mining, textiles, leather and pharmaceuticals, along with value-added manufacturing.
Kudratov said Uzbek companies are keen to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in food security, meat production, rice cultivation and mining.
The two ministers welcomed growing people-to-people and business connectivity, noting the resumption and expansion of direct air links. Uzbekistan said flights have been restarted from Islamabad and Lahore with multiple weekly frequencies, with additional services planned from Karachi, aiming to reach six flights per week.
On regional connectivity, both sides reviewed challenges caused by disruptions to traditional trade routes and discussed alternative corridors. The role of the National Logistics Corporation and the use of the northern corridor and Kashgar as a logistics and warehousing hub were examined.
The Uzbek side said Pakistani logistics operators have begun regularly routing cargo through the northern corridor, though at higher costs and longer transit times. Both ministers agreed that improving predictability and reducing friction on alternative routes is critical for trade continuity.
A key outcome of the meeting was a proposal to pursue a multi-country “green corridor” involving Pakistan, China and Central Asian partners to facilitate smoother movement of goods. The Uzbek side urged coordinated engagement with Chinese authorities to address bottlenecks and welcomed the use of warehousing facilities in Kashgar to support onward cargo movement.
Mining and minerals cooperation also received significant attention, with Jam Kamal Khan highlighting Pakistan’s need for modern exploration capacity, technical surveying, drilling services and technology-driven mining development.
Uzbekistan shared its extensive expertise in exploration and mining and said it has established a specialized overseas geology and mining services company to provide services abroad. The Uzbek delegation expressed readiness to work with Pakistani partners on exploration services, knowledge transfer and joint projects.
The talks also covered cooperation in agriculture and value-added exports, including livestock and red-meat value chains, rice varieties, cultivation models and processed foods such as dehydrated fruits, juices and concentrates.
Concluding the meeting, both ministers reaffirmed their commitment to deepening Pakistan–Uzbekistan economic ties through accelerated implementation, sustained institutional coordination and expanded B2B engagement, with the aim of converting strong political goodwill into measurable trade and investment outcomes.