MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Afghan and Uzbek companies and traders signed 25 cooperation agreements worth $50 million during an Afghanistan-Uzbekistan business forum held in northern Balkh province.
The forum brought together 130 Uzbek businesspeople and a number of Afghan traders to discuss ways to expand bilateral trade and investment.
Mohammad Ibrahim Ghazanfar, head of the Balkh Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said the agreements would help boost commercial cooperation, attract investment and further strengthen economic ties between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Khairullah Bazarov, governor of Uzbekistan’s Fergana region, said economic cooperation between the two countries should go beyond imports and exports.
“We do not limit our economic relations to imports and exports. We are also working to ensure fair pricing, strengthen production and build greater trust between traders and producers. To this end, we have taken steps to expand trade between Fergana and Balkh, and today we are leading a delegation of Uzbek businesspeople and industrialists,” he said.
Noor-ul-Hadi Abu Idris, deputy governor of Balkh, invited domestic and foreign investors to invest in Afghanistan, saying such investment would support economic growth, create jobs and expand industrial production.
Afghan and Uzbek traders also stressed the need to introduce a business visa regime, facilitate cross-border travel for traders, expand economic cooperation and create more opportunities for joint investment.
At the end of the forum, the two sides signed 25 cooperation agreements valued at $50 million.
Coinciding with the event, a permanent exhibition showcasing products from Uzbekistan’s Fergana region was inaugurated in Mazar-i-Sharif.
The forum followed a similar Afghanistan-Uzbekistan business meeting held in Kabul, where 22 agreements worth 13.2 billion afghanis were signed.
hz/sa
