Uzbek Ambassador to Pakistan Aybek Arif Usmanov says Uzbekistan and Pakistan are intertwined in strong bonds of religion, culture and traditions and bilateral relations will further strengthen in days to come.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Radio Pakistan’s News and Current Affairs Channel in Islamabad, he said both countries enjoy strong cooperation and relationship in diverse fields.

Terming regional connectivity as the main driver of socio economic and regional integration, he said Tashkent and Islamabad have been bounded by historic caravan roads, industrial linkages, and integration connections.

Aybek Arif Usmanov said the first part of regional connectivity is the establishment of robust rail road links between Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He said we are working on starting a rail link from Uzbek city of Tirmiz that will pass through Afghan cities of Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, Kabul and Jalalabad to Pakistani cities.

He said some of mega cooperation projects like TAPI, CASA-1000, rail links and power supply are the areas which have a long term scope. We need strong political will to find a win-win situation for our regional economies.