National Assembly Secretariat

Directorate General of Media

Press Release

Baku, May 17, 2022: The Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan met with the Speaker of the Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of Uzbekistan on the margins of the 3rd PAECO Conference in Baku. The Uzbek Speaker thanked the Speaker National Assembly for the meeting and praised the role of Pakistan during its Presidency of PAECO and its voluntary contributions and services towards the Secretariat of PAECO.

The Uzbek Speaker said that the two countries enjoyed brotherly relations and said that there was a huge potential of developing cooperation in transportation and development needs of the two countries. He also appreciated the role of Pakistan, for being among the one of the first countries to support and recognize Uzbekistan. He referred to his visit to Pakistan last year for the 2nd PAECO Conference which proved instrumental in further cementing the relations between the two countries.

The Speaker National Assembly, Raja Pervez Ashraf thanked the Uzbek Speaker for the meeting and said that it was also his desire to meet with the Uzbekistan Speaker and to discuss the possible avenues for fostering parliamentary cooperation between the two sides. He said that the two countries were tied in historic ties and the relationship between the two countries were also brotherly.

The Speaker said that parliamentary diplomacy was a tool to foster bilateral ties and to engage with each other on issues of mutual interest. He emphasized on the need of enhancing exchange of delegations not only at the parliamentary and governmental levels but in all fields including education and cultural exchanges etc. for promoting people-to-people contacts between the two countries.

The Speaker Pervez Ashraf expressed satisfaction over the establishment of Friendship Groups between the two Parliaments and said that such platforms were instrumental in paving way for further cooperation in diverse fields. He added that connectivity was a cornerstone for the region and said the initiatives like the railroad from Peshawar-Mazar e Sharif-Tashkent were important.

Talking about Afghanistan, as an immediate neighbor of both the countries, the Pakistan Speaker said that peace in Afghanistan was of paramount importance for not only peace in the region but the whole world.

The Uzbek Speaker said, despite the huge potential of trade relations, the existing trade and commercial ties between the two countries were not satisfactory. He added that the Uzbekistan side will work-out a proposal for enhancing trade relations and share it with the Pakistani side. He also underlined the need for direct commercial flights between the Capitals of the two countries.

The Pakistan Speaker appreciated the idea and also offered Uzbekistan, as a landlocked country, to utilize the sea ports of Pakistan, having new and improved infrastructure under CPEC projects and reach out to the world through the shortest sea routes.