Afghan and Uzbek Traders Sign 22 Trade Agreements Worth Over $200 Million
The Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce has announced that Afghan and Uzbek traders have signed 22 memorandums of understanding valued at over $200 million. However, the ministry did not provide details regarding the sectors or contents of these agreements.
According to the ministry, these documents were signed during the “Afghan-Uzbek Trade Forum” held on Monday, July 26, in Kabul. Taliban officials have yet to specify which economic sectors the agreements cover or when they will be implemented.
Nooruddin Azizi, acting Minister of Industry and Commerce for the Taliban administration, expressed hope during the meeting that trade volume between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan would increase to five billion dollars. He stated that achieving this goal depends on expanding economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.
Azizi claimed that Afghanistan had previously exported 10,000 tons of cotton to Uzbekistan on a trial basis, and that Uzbekistan has now committed to purchasing an additional 100,000 tons of cotton from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Jamshid Khodzhaev, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, who arrived in Kabul two days ago leading a delegation comprising government officials and private sector representatives, emphasized the development of economic and trade cooperation with Afghanistan. The Taliban administration stated that 300 Uzbek traders were part of this delegation.
Uzbekistan is considered one of Afghanistan’s key trading partners in Central Asia, and both countries have sought to increase trade exchanges in recent years. However, how the new commitments will be implemented and their impact on Afghanistan’s economy remains unclear.
