Islamabad (GNP): President Asif Ali Zardari has conveyed his warm felicitations to President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the brotherly people of Uzbekistan on the occasion of their 35th Independence Day.
In his letter to President Mirziyoyev, the President said that Pakistan attaches great importance to its historic and fraternal relations with Uzbekistan, founded on shared faith, cultural affinities, mutual trust and a common vision for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
President Zardari said he is pleased that the partnership between Pakistan and Uzbekistan continues to acquire greater depth and substance, with expanding cooperation across political, economic, trade, connectivity, defence and people-to-people domains.
Recalling President Mirziyoyev’s State Visit to Pakistan in February this year, President Zardari said the visit has imparted fresh momentum to the two countries’ strategic partnership. He said their productive discussions and the understandings reached during the visit reflect the strong political will on both sides to translate their close friendship into tangible benefits for their peoples.
The President also expressed confidence that, through joint efforts, Pakistan and Uzbekistan would further strengthen their partnership, enhance regional connectivity and economic cooperation, and work closely in pursuit of their shared aspirations for peace and prosperity.
After Uzbekistan’s independence in the early 1990s, it was destined to be partners with Pakistan. Their (Pakistan and Uzbekistan) similar demographic configurations, shared religion and historical connections (between Farghana Valley and the Indian sub-continent) provide a strong impetus for the establishment of durable and cordial bilateral relations between the two countries.
The geographical locations of Pakistan and Uzbekistan are another factor that can help in enhancing bilateral relations between both countries. Both states are located at the cusps of their respective regions and can act as connecting points between the (natural) resource-rich Central Asian region and the agricultural heartland region of South Asia.
The historically famous Farghana valley in Uzbekistan has always remained a commercial transit hub in the past which contributed immensely to the economic progress and development of the entire Asian continent.
However, bilateral relations in the first decade of the twenty-first century moved considerably slow due to the surge of terrorism around the globe. The situation was further marred by the international financial crises of 2008, which reduced the economic exchanges between both the developing countries. But, bilateral relations between Pakistan and Uzbekistan are finally taking off and moving forward with a positive trajectory and PM Khan’s recent visit to Uzbekistan was a testament to this. During PM Khan’s visit to Uzbekistan, leaders of both countries exchanged pleasantries on the 30 years of friendly diplomatic relations.
Also read: President Zardari felicitates Malaysia on Independence Day
In their meetings, Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed several MoUs and agreed to strengthen bilateral relations and mutual interests to enhance and cooperate in multiple sectors including trade, energy, education, science and technology and cultural exchanges.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
