Over the previous eight years, Uzbekistan and Pakistan have taken a number of steps to strengthen their bilateral ties, elevating their cooperation right into a strategic partnership. A key milestone on this course of was the signing of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership in 2021, adopted by a collection of diplomatic, protection, and financial agreements. Notably, each international locations have intensified commerce and funding efforts, exchanging intergovernmental agreements on transit, commerce, and simplified visa procedures for enterprise and tourism.
Bilateral commerce has grown remarkably in recent times, reflecting the strengthening financial ties between the 2 nations. On the eighth assembly of the Intergovernmental Fee on Commerce-Financial and Scientific-Technical Cooperation in February 2023, each nations set an bold goal of reaching $1 billion in bilateral commerce. This aim was additional strengthened throughout Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s official go to to Tashkent on the finish of February 2025, the place further measures had been launched to push commerce volumes to $2 billion inside the subsequent 4 years.
Based on knowledge from Uzbekistan’s statistics agency, bilateral commerce elevated elevenfold between 2017 and 2024, rising from $36.2 million to $403.9 million, with joint enterprises reaching 130. Over the identical interval, Uzbekistan’s exports to Pakistan surged 29.5 instances, from $10.1 million to $298.9 million, whereas imports from Pakistan quadrupled, rising from $26 million to $104.9 million. In 2024 alone, commerce turnover grew by 4 %. At the moment, Pakistan accounts for roughly 0.6 % of Uzbekistan’s whole overseas commerce turnover.
Whereas commerce development has been substantial, the present volumes nonetheless fall in need of the bold targets established by the 2 governments. Nonetheless, latest discussions in Tashkent renewed optimism, as each nations reaffirmed their dedication to boosting commerce. Below an agreed roadmap, Uzbekistan and Pakistan plan to broaden the vary of products coated underneath the Preferential Commerce Treaty, simplify customs procedures and phytosanitary procedures, combine digital buying and selling platforms, and improve interbank settlements.
Commerce relations are anticipated to develop throughout multiple sectors, together with prescribed drugs, agriculture, farming equipment, textiles, leather-based items, geology, power, and mining. Not solely do each economies share an curiosity in exporting processed merchandise to exterior markets, however each areas are additionally transferring towards financial diversification. These joint efforts are anticipated to strengthen industrial cooperation, enhance transparency in logistic connections, and create conducive circumstances for enterprise growth.
Regardless of robust mutual curiosity in deepening funding and commerce relations, logistical bottlenecks and excessive transportation prices pose essential concerns for respective policymakers and enterprise communities in each international locations. Recognizing this, Uzbekistan took a proactive stance by initiating a U.N. special resolution on strengthening interconnectivity between Central and South Asia, which was unanimously adopted by the Normal Meeting in July 2022. Co-authored by Pakistan and different Central Asian international locations, this decision underscores the importance of transport and transit corridors in enhancing commerce effectivity and unlocking regional funding potential.
At the moment, two main land routes join Uzbekistan and Pakistan. These are the Trans-Afghan Hall, which runs primarily by way of Afghanistan, and the Karakoram Freeway (often known as the Friendship Freeway), which passes by way of China. Every of those routes presents its personal distinctive alternatives and challenges.
The Trans-Afghan Hall
The Trans-Afghan Hall spans 2,800 km alongside the Tashkent-Termez-Kabul-Peshawar-Karachi axis, offering a connection between Uzbekistan and Pakistan’s key financial hubs, together with the Karachi and Gwadar seaports. With an estimated supply time of seven to 10 days, this hall is essentially the most cost-effective and time-efficient route. Nonetheless, it’s fraught with logistical and safety challenges.
One main bottleneck is the Salang Cross, the one hall able to accommodating heavy-duty vehicles (these over 25 tons). The 600-km Termez-Salang-Kabul section is often closed throughout winter resulting from extreme climate circumstances, inflicting important commerce disruptions. Instead, freight has been rerouted by way of the 850-km Termez-Sheberghan-Kabul route, rising supply instances and prices. Interviews with truck drivers point out that transport prices for a 10-wheeled truck from Termez to Kabul quantity to $1,150 by way of the Salang Cross. That rises to $1,450 when touring by way of Sheberghan, including $300 per journey.
Moreover, frequent border closures between Pakistan and Afghanistan resulting from safety incidents additional hinder commerce. Of the eight official border crossings between the 2 international locations, solely three (Torkham, Chaman, and Ghulam Khan) function 24 hours a day, six days per week, excluding Saturdays, that are reserved for pedestrian motion. Even these crossings are susceptible to closures, as seen in 2024, when border crossings had been shut for a cumulative 67 days, leaving hundreds of cargo vehicles stranded. For example, from January 13 to twenty, 2024, operations on the Torkham and Kharlachi checkpoints had been suspended, leaving greater than 2,000 cargo vehicles stranded at every location.
The Karakoram Freeway
Another commerce route between Uzbekistan and Pakistan is the Karakoram Freeway, which runs by way of Andijan-Osh-Torugart (on the Kyrgyzstan-China border)-Kashgar-Khunjerab (on the China-Pakistan border)-Rawalpindi-Karachi. This hall spans a complete of three,855 km, with 2,450 km inside Pakistan, 750 km by way of Kyrgyzstan, and 600 km by way of China. The estimated delivery time alongside this route is 10 to 12 days.
Regardless of its potential, the Karakoram route additionally faces limitations. The Khunjerab Cross, an important section of this hall, sits at an elevation of 4,693 meters and stays closed from November to March resulting from harsh climate circumstances, together with ice, snowstorms, and landslides. This seasonal closure additional complicates the reliability of this route as a year-round commerce hall.
Railway Connectivity
Regardless of these challenges, the result of the latest high-level dialogue signifies that each Uzbekistan and Pakistan stay optimistic and dedicated to deepening commerce relations. Within the medium to long run, new railway tasks such because the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) Railway promise to reinforce regional connectivity and rework commerce dynamics between Central and South Asia.
Lately, Tashkent has actively promoted the 573-km Trans-Afghan railway, which may have a freight capability of as much as 20 million tons per yr. This mission is not only a regional game-changer but additionally a part of Uzbekistan’s long-term technique to remodel Afghanistan from a safety legal responsibility right into a bridge between Central and South Asia, the Gulf, and past.
In 2024, Uzbekistan signed an settlement with Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates to conduct a feasibility research, with building set to start this yr. As soon as accomplished, this railway will drastically cut back transit prices and time, facilitating seamless commerce flows between Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
One other promising growth is the CKU Railway, officially launched on December 27, 2024. As soon as operational, the 523-km railway will hyperlink Andijan to Kashgar by way of Kyrgyzstan’s territory, offering entry to the $46 billion China-Pakistan Financial Hall (CPEC). Provided that CPEC is essentially the most developed land hall underneath the Belt and Highway Initiative, this railway might considerably improve Uzbekistan’s connectivity to South and West Asian markets and past.
Regardless of short-term logistical challenges, Uzbekistan and Pakistan are on a promising trajectory to realize their $2 billion commerce goal, demonstrating a shared dedication to deepening financial ties. The Trans-Afghan Hall stands as essentially the most direct route, providing huge alternatives for commerce growth, whereas the Karakoram Freeway offers another that, regardless of seasonal challenges, stays a beneficial conduit. Within the medium run, the event of railway networks – notably the UAP and CKU Railways – is essential to unlocking sustainable commerce development between Central and South Asia. By fostering higher regional cooperation and systematically addressing logistical and monetary hurdles, each nations can harness their full financial potential and create a extra built-in and resilient commerce community.
