Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood on Friday announced that their Silk Route Reconnect initiative is bearing results as exports to Central Asian countries increased by over 39 percent.

Sharing the increasing trend in a series of messages from his Twitter handle, Razak Dawood said that exports to Central Asian Republics increased by 39.42 percent from USD104 million in 2019-20 to USD145 million in 2020-21.

“For the half-year, Jul-Dec 2021, these exports increased by 173 percent to USD 134 million from USD 49 million in the same period of the previous year,” he said.

He said that trade and Investment conferences were held in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in 2021 where the opening of banks in each other countries was discussed.

“Pakistan, Uzbekistan Transit Trade Agreement was signed in 2021 at Tashkent while we are negotiating Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) with Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan,” he said.