ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar arrived in Uzbekistan on Wednesday where he will attend the 16th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit to discuss issues related to enhanced trade and regional connectivity.
The ECO, an intergovernmental organization, was established by Pakistan, Iran and Turkiye in 1985. Ever since, it has expanded its membership to include Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries.
The regional forum aims to utilize the economic potential of its member states that collectively form a mammoth market of over 500 million people by creating increased trade and investment opportunities. Together the ECO countries forged a multifaceted Vision 2025 for greater integration to expand tourism and ensure cooperation in a range of economic sectors.
“Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has arrived in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to attend the 16th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit,” said a brief statement issued by his office in Islamabad.
“The Prime Minister was received by the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdullah Nagmatovich Aripov at Tashkent International Airport,” it added.
He is also accompanied foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and commerce minister Gohar Ejaz.
A day earlier, Pakistan’s foreign office announced in a brief statement that Kakar “will reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to ECO Vision 2025 and promote regional cooperation in the areas of trade, transport, connectivity, energy, tourism and economic growth and productivity.”
He is also expected to present his country’s vision for the future ECO work and hold bilateral discussions with the leaders of Uzbekistan and other participating states.
Pakistan has already launched its own regional connectivity program to tap central Asian markets by developing a deep-sea port in the southwestern city of Gwadar with Chinese assistance. The project is part of a multibillion-dollar economic corridor program that seeks to deepen Pakistan’s strategic relations with China.
