Uzbekistan has offered a ten-year tax exemption to Pakistani businesses as part of a major initiative to elevate bilateral trade to an ambitious $2 billion target, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced today.
Speaking alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Pakistan-Uzbekistan Business Forum in the capital, President Mirziyoyev urged the commercial communities of both nations to come forward to tap their full economic potential, says an official report issued by MOIB today.
Prime Minister Sharif declared that the relationship between the two countries will henceforth be measured by tangible outcomes, including trade flows, investment projects, industrial partnerships, and people-to-people exchanges.
“It was in this very spirit that we jointly set an ambitious yet easily achievable target of increasing our bilateral trade to two billion dollars,” Mr Sharif stated at the forum.
To facilitate this new economic era, the two nations have signed a protocol to establish a working group. This group will be tasked with drafting a five-year roadmap to promote commerce, investment, and joint collaboration in sectors such as research and development, information technology, and agriculture.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence that business-to-business memoranda of understanding, valued at $3.4 billion, are going to be materialised.
He emphasised that Pakistan views Uzbekistan not merely as a partner but as a crucial gateway to Central Asia, presenting considerable potential for joint ventures with Pakistani entrepreneurs.
Tourism was also identified as another significant area in which both countries could benefit from each other”s experience.
President Mirziyoyev assured Pakistani enterprises of all possible facilitation to foster stronger economic integration.