Pakistan–Uzbekistan relations are the foreign relations between

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

Country Comparison

History of Relations

Relations between the two states were established when the republic of Uzbekistan became independent following the

collapse of the USSR The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991. Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Uzbekistan, though relations between the two countries were initially strained by the situation in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

which both countries border as they supported opposing Afghan factions. However, relations have improved after the fall of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

, and the death of Uzbek president Islam Karimov, and subsequent deepening of Uzbek outreach to regional countries under his successor Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Both countries have a cordial and deepening relationship as the two countries interests in Afghanistan have become aligned - with Uzbekistan formally hosting a Taliban delegation in 2019. Pakistan further wishes to gain access to Central Asian markets, while

landlocked A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...

Uzbekistan to access ports on the Arabian Sea.

Economic Relationship

Pakistan and Uzbekistan are members of different international forums including the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Organization of Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

(OIC),

Economic Cooperation Organization The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is an Asian political and economic intergovernmental organization that was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve dev ...

(ECO) and

Shanghai Cooperation Organization russian: Шанхайская Организация Сотрудничества , image = , caption = , logo = SCO logo.svg , logo_size = 160px , map = Shanghai Cooperati ...

(SCO). Pakistan-Uzbekistan Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) held on regular basis. Trade between both countries is increasing, rising threefold between 2018 and 2019, though bilateral trade in 2018 was low at $90 million on account of difficulties in transit across war torn Afghanistan. The first direct flights between the countries began in 2018 between

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

and

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

launched by

Uzbekistan Airways JSC Uzbekistan Airways, operating as ''Uzbekistan Airways'' ( uz, Oʻzbekiston Havo Yoʻllari, ; russian: Узбекские Авиалинии), is the flag carrier airline of Uzbekistan, headquartered in Tashkent. From its hub at Islam Kari ...

, and is expected to further increase trade between the two countries

Uzbeks in Pakistan

The Uzbek population in Pakistan numbers roughly 70,000, and consists of a small number of Uzbek immigrants from Uzbekistan, and a much larger number of Uzbek refugees from northern

(around 2.3% of

Afghans in Pakistan Afghans in Pakistan ( ur, , , ) are temporary residents from Afghanistan who are registered in Pakistan as refugees and asylum seekers. They fall under the jurisdiction of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Most of them ...

are Uzbeks). 4000 words common in both languages are found in Pakistan and Uzbekistan National Languages.

References

Bilateral relations of Uzbekistan {{Bilateralrelations-stub

Country Comparison

History of Relations

Economic Relationship

Uzbeks in Pakistan

See also

References