ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Pakistan, Alisher Tukhtaev, has applauded Sheharyar Memon on assuming the charge of focal person of the Prime Minister Youth Programme (PMYP) on overseas and business and trade linkages and called him to play his role in promoting bilateral economic ties between Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
The focal person of PMYP on overseas and business and trade linkages, Sheharyar Memon, in a meeting with the Uzbekistan Ambassador to Pakistan here Friday, felicitated him on the upcoming launch of the second direct flight between the Uzbek Capital, Tashkent and Islamabad and termed it significant for promoting economic and trade relations between the two countries and increasing cooperation in the tourism sector.
Uzbek envoy applauds Sheharyar Memon’s new role, calls for enhanced economic ties
Earlier, two direct flights a week from Lahore are operating to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and the second direct flight from Islamabad to Tashkent to operate on September 28, 2025, is a pivotal step and thus the upcoming fourth direct flight from Uzbekistan will further promote Pakistan’s economic, trade, cultural and tourism integration with Central Asian countries, Sheharyar said.
In the meeting, the Ambassador of Uzbekistan said that Uzbekistan is ready to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in the main areas of the tourism industry and cultural exchanges.
The Uzbek envoy said that with strong political will, direct air connections and the warmth of our friendship, he was confident that the future of Uzbekistan–Pakistan economic ties and cooperation in the tourism sector would grow stronger, deeper and brighter.”
The air connectivity plays a vital role in this regard, he said and added that Uzbekistan Airways was now operating two direct flights a week from Tashkent to Lahore, and two weekly direct flights from Tashkent to Islamabad were also operational.
He said that in addition, the Uzbek side was actively working to expand direct and regular air connections to other major cities of Pakistan.
The envoy said that under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan had entered a new era–the era of the New Uzbekistan.
Despite global challenges, Uzbekistan’s economy is growing by more than 6 percent every year, and in just eight years, our GDP has doubled – reaching 115 billion US dollars last year, and is expected to exceed 150 billion this year 5025, he said.
Alisher said that Uzbekistan’s exports had grown to $26 billion, while our gold and foreign exchange reserves had, for the first time, surpassed $48 billion.
He said that over the past years, Uzbekistan had attracted about $130 billion in foreign investment and this year alone, $35 billion of investments were creating almost 9,000 new enterprises and service complexes. On the eve of Independence Day, 79 major projects worth $4 billion were launched – a true gift to our people for the holiday, he said.
He said the number of small and medium-sized businesses has doubled, and today they employ more than 10 million people.
Uzbekistan is opening wider to the world, and last year, more than 11 million tourists visited our country, bringing more than $3 billion in revenue. By 2030, we aim to attract an additional $35 billion of investment and increase the share of renewable “green” energy to 54 percent. Today, Uzbekistan is no longer just an exporter of raw materials, but “Our industrial output has grown from $29 billion in 2017 to $70 billion this year, he said.
The Ambassador said that modern technologies and new knowledge were transforming every sector, including infrastructure, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and building a strong workforce for the future.
