ISLAMABAD, OCT 13 (DNA) .. Ambassadors of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have called for deeper cooperation with Pakistan adding there is huge scope for cooperation with Pakistan.

Ambassador of Tajikistan Sherali Jononov and Ambassador of Uzbekistan Furqat Sadikov said Central Asia has huge business prospects and Pakistani businessmen should go to Central Asian states to explore various business avenues.

They made these observations during a K2 TV program hosted by Naeem Siddique.

Ambassador of Tajikistan said his country was keen to expand ambit of relations with Pakistan and we have already signed a number of agreements.

The ambassador said CASA 1000 is very important project, which is now in the final stages of completion.

He also talked about some bureaucratic hurdles in Pakistan and mentioned that to get Pakistani visa is a Herculean task for even diplomats. He hoped the concerned authorities will look into this issue seriously.

He also mentioned start of direct flights from Islamabad to Tajikistan, which was discontinued due to some reasons. He hoped the flights may re-start soon.

Ambassador of Uzbekistan said his country had huge expertise in cotton production and we can help Pakistan a lot in increasing its cotton production.

He further said both countries can also cooperation in education and cultural fields. In this regard we have signed MoU also.

Uzbek ambassador said we are inviting Pakistani students and teachers to visit Uzbekistan education institutions and hopefully we will sing some MoU also in this field.

On Afghanistan the Uzbek ambassador said Afghanistan is holds key to business activity in the region and it in fact plays as a bridge. He said there were 14 economic zones in Uzbekistan which means businessmen can have a profitable business in Uzbekistan.

He said trade volume between Uzbekistan and Pakistan has increased from 35 million per year to 85 million USD. He hoped this volume will further go up in the coming days.

Editor Centreline and Diplomatic News Agency (DNA) said Pakistan should focus on this region as it has a lot to offer.

He said India is hosting sate level summits with Central Asia on regular basis but unfortunately Pakistan has never held even a single summit with Pakistan.

He said these countries are also playing a key role in maintenance of security in the region therefore the role of especially Tajikistan and Uzbekistan should be recognized. If we have peace in the region it is because of these countries.

Ansar further said CPEC was also a landmark project and Central Asian countries can also be part of this project. –DNA