DUSHANBE: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday stressed upon expansion of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Tajikistan as the current volume did not reflect the current level of brotherly relationship between the two countries.

Addressing a presser along with President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, the prime minister said that today, they had signed a number of MoUs which would be very helpful in furthering their bilateral ties.

The prime minister especially mentioned the agreement over strategic partnership.

Pak-Tajik SPA likely during PM’s visit

“These agreements will go a long way in furthering our brotherly ties and of course, expanding our scope of cooperation in the coming days,” he added.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also assured Tajik president that he would work closely with him to further cement the brotherly ties not only in fields of agriculture, education, health and promotion of investment but also in expansion of bilateral trade.

He underlined that the both countries required to work closely and fix targets as how to increase their bilateral trade and investment, citing transportation of goods from port of Karachi to Tajikistan via Afghanistan and then from Dushanbe to Karachi port via Afghanistan through a rail-road connectivity project.

The prime minister termed this existing opportunity as ‘an area of huge economic importance for both countries’.

The prime minister apprised that he had very fruitful and productive one-on-one meeting with the Tajik president, besides holding delegation level meetings in which they discussed to explore trade and investment opportunities.

He said Pakistan would be keen to be a part of China, Tajikistan and Afghanistan trade corridor project, adding ‘it would be another opportunity to broaden the multilateral trade’ in the region.

He also expressed the confidence that the CASA 1000, would be completed soon, bringing prosperity in this region.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also referred to another MoU pertaining to relaxation of visas requirements and said that it would be very helpful for both countries in further achieving their goals.

The prime minister said the two brotherly countries had been the victims of terrorism; Pakistan faced this menace for years and paid a huge price in terms of human lives and of course, suffered from colossal economic losses to the tune of billions of dollars.