On the sidelines of SCO Council of Head of States meeting, PM Shehbaz holds separate high-level meetings with Tajik, Russian, Uzbek presidents. Offers Karachi port to Tajikistan for transit trade.  Emphasises expanding bilateral trade, defence cooperation with Russia.  Terms stable Afghanistan fundamental to regional prosperity.  Also shares views at inaugural session of Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan Trilateral Summit on regional economic vision.

ISLAMABAD/ASTANA/DUSHANBE   -   Pakistan yesterday invited Tajikistan to use Karachi Port for transit trade as the two countries agreed to enhance cooperation.

The bilateral relations and enhanced cooperation were discussed during the official visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Tajikistan on July 2-3 at the invitation of Emomali Rahmon, the President of Tajikistan, according to a joint statement issued after the visit.

The prime minister informed the Tajik President about the operationalization of Gwadar seaport and offered Tajikistan the opportunity to avail the facilities of Pakistani seaports.

It was highlighted that the Pakistani seaports offer the most efficient, shortest and economic route for the Central Asian countries including Tajikistan to the markets in Middle East and beyond.

The two countries reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing the longstanding fraternal ties and increase bilateral economic cooperation by exploring new avenues, opportunities and ventures. In order to strengthen trade relations, both parties also committed to exploring the possibility of granting preferential market access to each other’s goods, including through discussions on a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).

Emphasizing the significance of enhancing road, rail, and air connectivity between the two nations, they agreed to conduct expert-level consultations on the matter.

Underlining the importance of reliable electricity supply for sustainable economic growth, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment for early completion of the flagship power project CASA-1000.

It was agreed that completion of the project would open new avenues for future energy corridors, leading to prosperity for the two sides and the whole region.

Recognizing the significance of the Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation, both parties expressed their preparedness to convene the 7th Session of the Joint Commission in Islamabad at the earliest opportunity.

The President of Tajikistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan inked the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Tajikistan and Pakistan. This agreement symbolizes the deepening mutual trust and partnership between the two nations, opening new avenues for advancing bilateral cooperation.

“The Pakistan Prime Minister also expressed support for Tajikistan’s initiative to establish the SCO Anti-Drug Centre in Dushanbe,” said the joint statement.

Noting the current level of bilateral trade, it was underlined that there is a vast potential that needs to be tapped through mutual efforts. Accordingly, the two sides agreed to increase bilateral economic ties by exploring new avenues, opportunities and ventures.

The two leaders commended the excellent bilateral cooperation at the multilateral forums including the UN, SCO, OIC, ECO and CICA. It was agreed to further enhance multilateral cooperation for global and regional peace, stability and sustainable development.

The two sides highlighted the need to enhance business-to-business ties through the exchange of business delegations, organization of business forums/exhibitions and scheduling meetings of the Tajikistan-Pakistan Joint Business Council.

Prime Minister Shehbaz underlined the significance of collaboration with Tajikistan within Pakistan’s “Vision Central Asia” policy framework. This policy is structured around five key areas of bilateral cooperation: political relations, trade and investment, energy and connectivity, security and defence, and people-to-people exchanges.

The prime minister also reaffirmed Pakistan’s backing for Tajikistan’s accession to the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA).

Shehbaz Sharif supported nomination of Tajikistan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2028-2029 and appreciated Tajikistan’s valuable support for Pakistan’s candidature to the same body for the term 2025-26.

Prime Minister Sharif highlighted CPEC as a linchpin of Pakistan’s connectivity with the region and the major plank of its future development. He mentioned how the first phase of CPEC helped Pakistan lay a robust infrastructure network, whereas Phase-II is focused on infrastructure development, green development, ICT, industrialization and agriculture modernization.

Cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism and security was given particular attention by the leaders of Tajikistan and Pakistan and they welcomed the gradual development of bilateral cooperation in this field. The two leaders reaffirmed determination to further enhancement of cooperation in this field in order to overcome security challenges faced by the two countries and the region.

On Afghanistan, the two sides agreed that a peaceful, prosperous, interconnected and stable Afghanistan is fundamental to regional prosperity and progress. In this regard, they considered it important for Afghanistan to have an inclusive government.

The two leaders exchanged views on the rise of Islamophobia world-wide and expressed support for the joint initiatives and collective efforts of the OIC to combat this scourge. They welcomed the designation of  March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia by the UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Astana where he emphasised the expansion of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Russia across all areas of mutual benefit including trade, energy, defence and security.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Head of States meeting.

The PM reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to work with Russia to further expand and strengthen the growing multi-dimensional cooperation between the two countries.

During the ‘warm and cordial’ meeting, the two leaders had a wide ranging exchange of views covering bilateral relations with a special focus on trade and economic relations, energy as well as important regional and global issues, a PM Office press release said.

The prime minister, in his opening remarks at the outset of the meeting, said the bilateral trade stood at around $1 billion which could be expanded by overcoming the financial and banking matters.

Prime Minister Shehbaz, who arrived here to attend the twin Summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Heads of State (CHS) and SCO Plus summits, expressed his pleasure to meet the Russian leader and recalled their earlier interaction in Samarkand.

He congratulated President Putin on his re-election and expressed the hope that the Russian Federation would achieve further progress under his leadership.

The prime minister highlighted the importance Pakistan attached to its relations with Russia and expressed satisfaction at the steady growth of those relations, which were characterized by mutual trust and understanding.

He said that the bilateral relations were on a positive trajectory since last several years.

He expressed his readiness to work closely with the Russian president to further cement bilateral ties and viewed that both the countries had lot to do by benefiting from President Putin’s experience and leadership.

He said that Pakistan-Russian ties were not driven or impacted by any geopolitical situation as both the countries had very old business relations.

He recalled the barter trade between two countries during the decades of 50s to 70s when Pakistan used to import machinery from Russia and export leather and other commodities to Russia.

According to the statement, both sides agreed to convene the next meeting of the Pakistan-Russia intergovernmental Cooperation at Moscow at an early date.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting where they reaffirmed commitment to the multifaceted relations between the two countries and expanding of mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, connectivity, defence, security, culture and people to people contacts.

The two leaders expressed confidence that operationalization of the  Preferential Trade Agreement and Pakistan-Uzbekistan Transit Trade Agreement would further enhance bilateral trade and economic relations.

The prime minister met with the Uzbek president on the sidelines of the SCO Summit being held in Kazakhstan, the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

Recognizing the importance of Uzbekistan as a transit point for trade expansion for other countries, the two leaders agreed to focus on this particular area and to this end initiate an examination of the various options available.

The Karachi Port’s connectivity to Tirmez was also discussed to enhance trade between the two countries.

Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed Pakistan’s eagerness to see a prosperous Central Asia and enhanced regional connectivity.

The two leaders also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the common interest of both Pakistan and Uzbekistan for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan which could be a partner in the development and prosperity of the region.

The early realization of Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railway Project was also discussed.

Later, PM Shehbaz while sharing his views at an inaugural session of Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan Trilateral Summit held on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, Prime Minister Shehbaz proposed to establish tripartite institutional mechanisms particularly in economic and investment areas to further strengthen Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral economic and commercial cooperation.

He underscored that Pakistan deeply valued its fraternal ties with Azerbaijan and Turkiye which were grounded in deep- rooted cultural, historic and religious bonds as well as mutual respect and support towards each other on core issues.

The summit was attended by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Heydar Aliyev.

Prime Minister Shehbaz welcomed the convening of inaugural session of Pakistan-Turkiye-Azerbaijan Trilateral Meeting at the summit level, the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

He termed it a natural progression of trilateral engagements amongst the three brotherly Muslim countries which shared a similar outlook on a host of issues of mutual interest and common concern.

While noting excellent trilateral cooperation in political, parliamentary and defence domains since the First Trilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the three countries held in Baku in 2017, he affirmed Pakistan’s commitment to working together with Turkiye and Azerbaijan to elevate the tripartite cooperation into a strong multifaceted partnership across all areas of mutual interest including economic, energy, tourism, cultural, educational, technology and innovation, healthcare and environmental cooperation.

Emphasizing strong bonds of friendship and robust people-to-people contacts amongst the three countries, the prime minister also outlined significant potential for collaboration in the areas of culture, tourism, academia as well as science and technology.

Pakistan, Turkiye and Azerbaijan have previously held trilateral consultations at the level of foreign ministers, speakers of parliaments and defence personnel.