Afghan, Uzbek businessmen meet in Balkh, sign agreements

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Afghan and Uzbek businessmen met in northern Balkh province and signed some agreements to strengthen trade, production and industry, the provincial government said on Tuesday.

The meeting was held at Hairatan port where deputy governor Noor Al Hadi Abu Edrees led the Afghan delegation, the Media and Information Center said in a statement.

The Uzbek delegation was led by the country’s manufacturing companies’ general manager Malkov Yerkinjan and 30 businessmen from each side participated in the meeting, the statement added.

Deputy governor Abu Edrees said Afghan and Uzbek businesspeople should invest in Afghanistan to provide jobs for people and strengthen the manufacturing sector.

Yekinjan said Uzbek businessmen were interested to invest in Afghanistan and keep strong relations with their Afghan counterparts in economic, political, transit, commercial and industrial fields.

Under the agreements, Afghanistan will export bitumen, Isogam, furniture, carpets, raisins, cotton and steam boilers to Uzbekistan and import cement pipes, medicines, synthetic cotton and onion from Uzbekistan.

hz/ma