PESHAWAR: The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to increase economic and commercial relations between the two countries.

The MoU was signed by SCCI president Sherbaz Bilour and UCCI president UlugBeg inUzbekistan.

A high-level business delegation from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is currently visiting the Central Asian republic,according to a news release issued here on Thursday.

Led by SCCI president Sherbaz Bilour, the delegates include senior SCCI vice-president Engineer Manzoor Elahi and vice-president Junaid Altaf, former presidents Faiz Mohammad Faizi, Adeel Rauf and Zahidullah Shinwari, Industrialist Association, Peshawar, president Malik Imran Ishaq, former SCCI executive member Sohail Javed and businessmen Hasnain Khurshid, Mohammad Asif and Shahzad Anjum were along among the delegation.

Under the MoU, SCCI and UCCI will make efforts to enhance trade between the two countries and bring their business communities closer for collaborations and investment.

Mr Bilour called for Pakistan’s better trade ties with Central Asian republics to help stabilise economies and create investment opportunities to address the issue of unemployment.

He said enormous opportunities were available to increase Pak-Uzbek cooperation and he hoped that the signing of several agreements in different sectors would lead the two countries into a new era of cooperation and support.

The SCCI chief invited the Uzbek investors to visit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to explore vast investment opportunities.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s businessmen also met the Uzbek ministers, heads of trade and commerce-related institutions, and relevant officials.

During the meetings, both sides agreed to increase bilateral economic and trade ties, hold trade exhibitions and business-to-business sessions, strengthen relations between business communities, and benefit from each other’s experiences.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2021