Naveed Ahmad Khan
Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Pakistan Furkat Sidikov hosted a grand reception to mark the 28th Independence Day of his country at a local hotel in Islamabad.
Federal Minister for Power and Petroleum Omar Ayub Khan was the chief guest while Senator Talha Mahmood Chairman Cabinet Secretariat), Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of Turkmenistan Atadjan Movlamov and former National Security Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua were the participants of the reception.
The reception was a well-attended affair with many senior diplomats and Pakistanis from different walks of life attending the function to congratulate him and members of his embassy.
Federal Minister for Power and Petroleum Omar Ayub Khan has said Uzbekistan and Pakistan are great friends and these relations will further be strengthened during the tenure of PTI government. The Federal Minister expressed these views while speaking on the occasion of 28th anniversary of Independence Day of Uzbekistan.
The federal minister further said, Uzbekistan is very important country in the region and Pakistan attached huge importance to its relations with Uzbekistan. He hoped relations with Uzbekistan would grow further in the coming days also.
The Uzbek ambassador gave a guided tour to the minister and briefed him about various Uzbek delicacies.
Likewise, dry fruit stall was yet another attraction for the visitors. Different kinds of dry fruit packed in small boxes lured attention of audience, majority of them picked more than one boxes to enjoy the Uzbek delight to the full.
Uzbekistan ranks top among the Central Asian countries when it comes to development particularly in religious tourism and transportation infrastructure.
The new Uzbek government is committed to promote religious tourism and after government’s concerted efforts number of people visiting Uzbekistan for religious tourism has increased manifold.
Even from Pakistan a great influx of tourists heads to Uzbekistan on daily basis for religious as well other tourism attractions.
Direct flights from Lahore to Uzbekistan have made it easy for the tourists of both countries to commute regularly.
Uzbekistan’s agriculture sector is yet another sphere where the country has made progress by leaps and bounds. Uzbek embassy in Islamabad has held a number of road shows exhibiting Uzbek potential in the agriculture field.
Pakistan and Uzbekistan are in close contact to promote and strengthen bilateral cooperation in agriculture field. Pakistan can increase its cotton yield to a great extent by using Uzbek machinery, which happens to be the best in the world.
