Addressing the members of the business community at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) here on Monday, he said that Uzbekistan is an historic center of Islamic heritage and culture. "I have come here from the land of "Imam Bokhari" with a message of peace and love for Pakistani brethrens", he said.
About trade, he said that it has recorded a three-time growth as compared to last year. He said that Uzbekistan Air is managing weekly flight between Lahore and Tashkent while steps are being taken to start direct flights between Karachi and Tashkent. About banking channels, he said that a branch of National Bank of Pakistan is already operating in Tashkent while a Swiss bank is also expected to establish its branch to provide international banking facilities. To a question, he said the Uzbek government was also contemplating to start Islamic banking and in this connection steps are under way.
He further said that Uzbekistan is importing sugar, pharmaceuticals and potato from Pakistan while it could export agriculture machinery to Pakistan. Uzbek ambassador said that Pakistan and Uzbekistan both are cotton producing countries and his objective to visit Faisalabad is to encourage cooperation in the field of textile.
He said that many Pakistani companies are already doing business with Uzbekistan while there are huge opportunities to launch joint ventures in this specific field. In this connection, Uzbekistan has taken bold decisions by establishing Cotton Technical Centers which could equally benefit both countries. He also mentioned the facilities extended to the Pakistani investors and said that credit facility would also be provided to the foreign investors.
Regarding trade through road, he said that Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan are considering a joint proposal to open land route through Afghanistan by offering logistic, trade and transit facilities to the exporters of this region.
He further said that the road distance between Pakistan and Uzbekistan is only 700 miles through which it could also have access to the other land locked Central Asian states in addition to making exports to the European Union countries. He further said that efforts in this connection are under way which would yield positive results very soon.
He said that there are 14 Export Processing Zones (EPZs) across Uzbekistan where protection and incentives would also be provided to the foreign investors who will invest at least 100 million dollars. Uzbek ambassador also highlighted the historic, cultural and tourism importance of this city and said that Tashkent and Bokhara are historic cities which have also played an important role in the regional and global politics. "Uzbekistan also has mausoleum of renowned scholar "Imam Bokhari" and the only manuscript of the Holy Qura'an written about 500 years ago during the period of Caliph Hazrat Usman Ghani(RA).
During question-answer session, Furqat A. Siddiqov said that old information is rife among business community as the ground realities have altogether been changed now. He said that Uzbek exports recorded 59 percent increase during 2018 while his country was exporting cotton, cotton yarn and cotton fabric. He offered businessmen of Faisalabad to launch joint ventures to avail from the high quality and long staple cotton of Uzbekistan for the benefit of the two countries. He said that his country was endeavoring to get GSP plus status like facility which will also open avenues for foreign investors to make duty free exports from Uzbekistan to European countries. He also refuted the apprehension about Uzbek Air and said that people prefer to travel through this airline.
"Pakistani travelers have to wait for one month to get air tickets for Lahore to Tashkent route", he said and added that it is in this respect the Uzbek Air is contemplating to start Karachi- Tashkent flight.
Earlier, Mian Tanveer Ahmad acting president FCCI introduced Faisalabad and FCCI and said that Faisalabad is the third thickly populated city of Pakistan. "It is contributing 45 percent share towards the total textile export of this country", he added.
Regarding FCCI, he said that it is serving the business community of Faisalabad for the last 44 years while the total numbers of its members are 7000. He further said that although textile is the iconic identification of this city yet other sectors are also contributing their role in the overall exports of Pakistan. He observed that the bilateral trade between the two countries is far less that their existing potential and hence efforts should be expedited to ensure increase of 300 million dollars per annum. He also stressed the need for direct links between the business communities of the two countries and offered a proposal to ink a MoU between FCCI and Uzbekistan Chamber.
During the session, it was disclosed that Uzbek Business Council is organizing a business-cum-tourism delegation from April 19 to 20. Two separate documentaries about FCCI and Uzbekistan were screened while Kashif Zia, Engineer Ahmad Hasan and Shoaib Sana participated in the question-answer session.
Later, Engineer Ahmad Hasan offered vote of thanks and presented a FCCI shield to the Uzbek ambassador along with other members. Uzbek Ambassador Furqat A Siddiqov also reciprocated and presented a memento of Uzbek Embassy to acting president Mian Tanveer Ahmad. The ambassador also recorded his impressions in visitor's book and thanked the people of Faisalabad for their warm love and hospitality.