Issues of expanding Uzbek-Afghan cooperation discussed

An extended meeting of the delegations of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan took place in Kabul. The Uzbek side was headed by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan S. Umurzakov, and the Afghan side – by Deputy Head of the Interim Government of Afghanistan Abdul Gani Baradar.

During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the agenda of Uzbek-Afghan cooperation in the field of investment, trade, transport and logistics, energy, agriculture, education and healthcare.

The Afghan side provided information on the measures taken to ensure security in the country, restore the economy and social sphere, as well as fight against corruption.

Particular attention was paid to enhancing cooperation on the construction of the trans-Afghan railway “Termez – Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar”. The parties discussed the practical aspects of the project implementation and expressed their readiness to jointly resolve all existing issues.

During the dialogue, opportunities were also considered for attracting companies from Uzbekistan to participate in joint projects for the construction and restoration of infrastructure, the development of agriculture and the extraction of natural resources. An agreement was reached on the development and approval in the near future of the Action Plan for the development of Uzbek-Afghan trade and economic cooperation and joint work on its implementation.

It was also agreed that the parties will soon develop mechanisms to increase the volume of mutual trade and increase transit through the territories of the two states.

During the meeting, the heads of the ministries and departments of the two countries, in turn, put forward proposals for the further development of cooperation in the context of individual areas and expressed their readiness to intensify bilateral contacts in order to accelerate the resolution of existing issues.

Following the event, the heads of delegations emphasized the priority of expanding bilateral partnerships within the discussed areas of cooperation and identified further steps to implement the agreements reached.