Fawad says Pakistan would like to foster close coordination with Tashkent on all regional issues, including Afghanistan.
Says enhanced cooperation between Pakistan and Uzbekistan would also open new avenues of opportunities and prosperity in the entire region.
Reiterates Pakistan is desirous of an all-inclusive government representing all factions of society in Afghanistan.
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhary Fawad Hussain on Monday said that a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan is vital for building communication linkages between Pakistan and Central Asia.
During a meeting with the Ambassador of Uzbekistan Aybek Arif Usmanov who called on him, the minister said enhanced cooperation between the two countries in areas mutually beneficial to each other would also open new avenues of opportunities and prosperity in the entire region.
“The dream of building a rail track between Karachi and Tashkent and the start of truck service from Pakistan to Central Asia could only be materialised with peace and stability in Afghanistan,” the minister said.
Fawad said Pakistan enjoyed cordial bilateral ties with the brotherly country and would like to foster close coordination with Tashkent on all regional issues, particularly Afghanistan.
He added that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to Tashkent provided a new impetus to the bilateral relations as both sides vowed to reinforce multifaceted bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.
“Pakistan is desirous of all-inclusive government representing all factions of society in Afghanistan,” he said, adding that Uzbekistan was a key Central Asian country and deepening of cultural ties between the two countries would give a boost to people to people contacts.
The Uzbek ambassador commended Pakistan’s role in evacuating the stranded people from Afghanistan.
He expressed the hope that an inclusive government in Kabul would be formed having representation of all ethnic groups.
Usmanov also underlined the need for promoting all types of tourism between the two countries besides proposing Pakistan Television to telecast documentaries on historical Uzbek sites of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Sufism traditions.
The meeting was attended by the senior officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.