Uzbekistan approves $40m discount in Afghan transit fee

KABUL (Pajhwok): For good neighborliness and cooperation, Uzbekistan has approved a $40 million discount in transit fee for Afghan commercial goods for this year, the Afghan Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) said on Monday.

MoIC wrote on X that acting minister Noorruddin Azizi met with a delegation from the republic of Uzbekistan headed by minister of transport Ilkhom Mahkamov.

The two sides discussed different issues of mutual interest including strengthening of trade and transit ties and expansion of investment in Afghanistan, arranging more bilateral meetings, holding exhibitions of products in the two countries, the tans-Afghan railway project, upgrading services at Hairatan port to 24 hours and unification of truck payments in the two countries.

They also talked about relaxing visa issuance for traders and drivers and exchanged views on the creation of more logistic facilities in Nayebabad region.

Azizi said that Afghanistan was ready to expand trade ties with Uzbekistan.

He said domestic products of the two countries were relatively similar, so new markets should be explored in Central Asia, South Asia or in other countries.

Yesterday, MoIC said Aziz met with an Iranian delegation headed by Ghulam Reza Najari and deputy ambassador of that country in Kabul on the sideline of the ‘Industry Week’s’ Exhibition in Kabul.

Based on an understanding between Maulvi Abdul Ghani Baradar with Iranian officials, the two sides also discussed the opening of “The Office of Iran's Engineering System at Mining Sector” and providing training for Afghan engineers.

To take more practical steps towards the opening of “The Office of Iran's Engineering System at Mining Sector” in the country, the Afghan side introduced its contact and technical committee to the Iranian side.

Earlier, acting Mines and Petroleum minister Shahabuddin Delawar wrote on his X page that he met Ismatullah Irgshov, the special representative of the President of Uzbekistan and Ilkhom Mahkamov, the Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan and a technical team accompanying them.

Delawar said IEA policy was economy-based and the caretakers wanted comprehensive trade and economic relations with the world and large scale investment in the mining and minerals processing sector of Afghanistan.

The Uzbek delegation also included a number of directors of companies who expressed their interest to invest in Afghanistan’s oil, gas, gems and mineral sectors. They said their companies had long experience and they were ready to work with Afghan companies to process minerals.

aw/ma