KABUL (Pajhwok): Uzbekistan prime minister Abdulla Aripov has said his country is committed to developing cooperation with Afghanistan in economic, commercial and cultural fields.
The Presidential Palace wrote on X that deputy prime minister for political affairs Maulvi Abdul Kabir met with Abdulla Aripov yesterday.
At the meeting, the Uzbekistan leader said his country was the first to start official relations with the Islamic Emirate and now the relations were based on goodwill and cooperation.
He stressed the need for development of relations and interaction between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, saying his country supported Afghanistan’s position in important international meetings and raised issues that directly affected the Afghans.
His country is committed to developing cooperation with Afghanistan in economic and commercial fields, he said.
He said Uzbekistan wanted to develop Afghanistan’s mining, electricity, agriculture and restoration and preservation of historical and ancient monuments and places.
He assured his country was poised to implement the Trans-Afghan project and added that Uzbekistan would train 100 Afghans in the fields of railways and aviation and provide higher education to 50 Afghan students in the field of agriculture.
He said that Uzbekistan would share its experiences with the Afghans in economic development of their country.
The visiting dignitary said necessary facilities had been provided for the issuance of Uzbekistan visas to Afghan students and businessmen.
Aripov informed the ambassador of the Islamic Emirate will be officially accepted in Tashkent soon and also invited Mualvi Kabir to visit Tashkent.
For his part, Maulvi Abdul Kabir said Uzbekistan, as a neutral neighbor of Afghanistan, had always supported peace and stability in Afghanistan.
He said the Islamic Emirate attached great importance to relations with Uzbekistan.
Maulvi Abdul Kabir added that Afghanistan and Uzbekistan were two Muslim and neighboring countries and enjoyed many commonalities, providing basis for further development of relations and cooperation between the two countries.
He said that the Islamic Emirate desired good relations with Uzbekistan and all countries of the region and the world.
He asked countries and international organizations to accept the Islamic Emirate as the legitimate sovereign government of Afghanistan. “Only the Islamic Emirate can represent Afghanistan and Afghans in international meetings.”
Maulvi Abdul Kabir hoped Afghanistan’s presence in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization would be ensured and that the common concerns of the member countries would be answered.
He asked all investors, especially Uzbekistan, to invest in Afghanistan.
He said the interim government wanted to use Afghanistan’s geographical location for regional connectivity, to connect Central Asia with South Asia, something impossible without the transit and cooperation of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
He said the Islamic Emirate was ready for TAPI, CASA-1000 and other regional projects. “Stability and development of Afghanistan helps the stability and development of the region.”
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