TASHKENT, Uzbekistan:: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said Pakistan’s connectivity with Uzbekistan in trade and bilateral spheres would open up new avenues of prosperity in the region.

“Pakistan has immense potential to connect Central Asia with rest of the world and become a hub of trade,” the prime minister said in his address at the Uzbekistan-Pakistan Business Forum on ‘Central and South Asia 2021: Regional Connectivity Challenges and Opportunities’, in the Uzbek capital.

The forum was attended by a large number of businessmen from Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan assured the businessmen and traders of Uzbekistan that Pakistan would extend them every possible facilitation in promotion of trade.

The prime minister said the railway project among Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan would prove to be a revolution of development.

On the situation in Afghanistan, he said peace in the war-torn country was important to ensure materialization of development projects in Central Asia.

“Pakistan is keen for peace in Afghanistan and considers it vital for trade connectivity among the regional countries,” he said, adding that such trade linkages helped in raising the living standards of the citizens.

Imran Khan referred to the cooperation among the neighbouring countries of the European Union, that focused on bilateral trade arrangements for the benefit of their people.

He hoped that with the support and will of the regional States, the situation in Afghanistan would lead to improvement.

The prime minister said Pakistan and Uzbekistan enjoyed relations rooted in common faith, culture and history and offered a unique dimension to the two nations to explore each other in diverse areas.