Uzbekistan and Afghanistan have signed bilateral agreements covering deals worth $1bn if they come to fruition.
Contracts covering agreements in agriculture, textiles, leather and footwear, electrical engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, transport and other industries have been inked, according to Uzbekistan’s investment, industry and trade ministry.
The announcement was made after Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjayev led a political and business delegation that visited Kabul. It was received by Deputy Prime Minister of the interim Islamic Emirate government of Afghanistan, Abdul Ghani Mullah Baradar.
Items on the agenda included the opening of an Uzbekistan Railways representative office in Afghanistan and the resumption of the work of Uzbek trading houses present in Kabul and Mazar-I-Sharif. The parties also discussed international cargo transportation.
Also discussed as a priority was the construction of the Surkhan-Puli-Khumri power transmission line.
The delegation expressed some interest in studying and developing Afghan mineral deposits.
Official statements on the visit did not mention the matter of the Qosh Tepa canal being built by Afghanistan’s Taliban administration. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are concerned the canal could deplete their available water resources.
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