ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 5 (UPI) -- Uzbek President Islam Karimov said Uzbekistan supports Pakistan's full membership in the regional Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
UzReport reported on May 3 that Karimov made his observations during a press conference following talks with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
During Karimov's visit to Pakistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan signed 10 memoranda of understanding involving cooperation on subjects ranging from terrorism to agricultural cooperation.
Musharraf told reporters said that Pakistan would develop rail and road links with Uzbekistan to increase bilateral trade and give Uzbekistan access to the sea through Pakistani ports, particularly the new $2 billion port facility being constructed at Gwadar on the Arabian Sea and Karachi.
The two presidents agreed that stability in Afghanistan was essential if landlocked Uzbekistan was to have access to the sea via Pakistan's ports.
Karimov said that Uzbekistan fully supported Musharraf's vision of enlightened moderation as a way to cope with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and terror.
