Uzbekistan and Afghanistan signed export-import agreements worth about $1.2 billion

The government delegation of Uzbekistan led by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khojaev visited the city of Kabul yesterday, the correspondent of “Dunyo” news agency reports.

As part of the visit, meetings between the head of the Uzbek delegation and the Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Mullah Abdul Ghani Barodar, took place in a limited and expanded format. The meetings were attended by the ministers of investment, industry and trade, agriculture, water resources, mining and geology, energy and transport of the two countries.

The parties exchanged views on the current development and prospects for bilateral cooperation. The Afghan side was presented with proposals on a number of aspects of interaction.

The Deputy Head of the Government of Afghanistan welcomed the visit of the Uzbek delegation to Kabul, and also thanked the leadership of Uzbekistan for the humanitarian assistance provided to families affected by the earthquake in Herat province.

Noting that transport and transit issues are the engine of economic development, he highly appreciated the participation of the Uzbek side in projects to create a transport corridor connecting Central Asia and South Asia through Afghanistan.

It was emphasized that Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have many untapped opportunities in the economic sphere and their implementation will serve to increase the volume of mutual trade several times. The gratitude was expressed to the Uzbek side for the creation of a new visa mechanism for Afghan investors, business representatives and truck drivers.

Abdul Ghani Barodar welcomed the opening of the “Made in Uzbekistan” product exhibition as part of the visit.

In turn, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Zhamshid Khojaev drew attention to the fact that the delegation included five ministers, which made it possible to substantively discuss all topical issues and make appropriate decisions at section meetings.

It was also noted that the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan has developed a “Road Map” to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $3 billion in the near future.

Once again, the readiness of the Uzbek side to participate in large-scale infrastructure projects on transport/transit and electricity supply in Afghanistan, to train personnel and increase their potential was noted.

The Uzbek side declared its readiness to organize an exhibition of products manufactured in Afghanistan in Uzbekistan.

As part of the visit, a business forum was organized at the Kabul International Exhibition Center, in which over 300 representatives of local business circles took part. Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Zhamshid Khojaev, Minister of Industry and Trade of Afghanistan Nuriddin Azizi and Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment Muhammad Yunus Mohmand spoke at the business forum.

After this, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khojaev and Minister of Industry and Trade of Afghanistan Nuriddin Azizi officially opened an exhibition of products manufactured in Uzbekistan.

The variety of products presented at the exhibition aroused great interest among local entrepreneurs and participants. As part of the exhibition, B2B and G2B negotiations were organized between representatives of the business circles of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

During the meetings and negotiations held during the visit, export-import agreements worth about 1.2 billion US dollars were reached between the parties.