KARACHI – Pakistan would seek Uzbekistan’s help to get full membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to strengthen Pakistan’s engagement with the organization for trade promotion. The 5th session of Pak-Uzbek Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) is going to be held in Islamabad next week where both countries would discuss various options to improve the bilateral trade, sources disclosed.
Pakistan, enjoying an observer status of the six member states’ organization, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, is interested to have the permanent membership of the organization to have better trade and economic relations with the member countries.
Pakistan was also interested to get the regional cooperation against the menace of terrorism and extremism through getting the membership of SCO, which was created mainly to address its member nations’ regional security-related concerns.
The forthcoming JMC was being held after the 4th session of the commission held in Tashkent in 2009; sources said and adding that the Ministry of Commerce has demanded the details about the implementation status of the previous JMC from concerned departments and ministries.
Uzbekistan had earlier assured Pakistan that attempts would be made to accelerate the process of preparation of the legal instruments, determining the rules and criteria for observer states to become full members of the SCO. Both Pakistan and India the two observers of the organization were trying to get the full membership of the SCO to have more engagements in the region.
The SCO was also going to hold a summit dedicated to its 10th anniversary in the Kazakh capital of Astana on June 15, 2011. Beside the regional issue, the two countries were also likely to discuss the implementation status of the understandings made in the previous sessions of JMC and other talks/agreements, sources said.
Pakistan and Uzbekistan had signed a protocol to cooperate in water, power, agriculture, leather, textile, tourism and pharmaceutical sectors and to enhance bilateral trade between the two countries. The agreement was signed in Tashkent after the conclusion of 4th session of Pak-Uzbek JMC in April 2009.
The major understandings made in the previous session were included a branch of National Bank of Pakistan would be opened in Tashkent, while Islamabad would consider a request of Uzbekistan for provision of transport facilities at Gwadar Port. The Uzbek side, sources said, was informed that the Federal Cabinet of Pakistan has ratified the transit trade agreement with Uzbekistan.
It may be noted here that the trade between the two countries was currently around $40 million per annum.
