Uzbekistan Expresses Readiness to Invest in Housing Sector in Afghanistan

The Taliban-run Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has said Uzbekistan has expressed readiness to invest in the construction of housing and townships in Afghanistan, especially in Kabul.

The issue was raised during a meeting between Mullah Najibullah Hayat Haqqani, acting minister of urban development and housing under the Taliban administration, and Oybek Usmanov, Uzbekistan’s ambassador in Kabul.

According to the ministry, Haqqani said opportunities for Uzbek investment in the housing sector would be provided on the basis of existing procedures. He also thanked Uzbekistan for its readiness to cooperate in this area.

Citing Haqqani, the Taliban-run Ministry of Urban Development and Housing added that the permanent settlement of returning migrants is one of the important issues in Afghanistan. He claimed that the ministry has so far provided permanent housing for more than 70,000 returning migrant families and distributed residential plots.

During the meeting, the Uzbek ambassador also shared with ministry officials a proposal for cooperation between two educational centres in his country for the exchange of information in engineering and the capacity-building of the ministry’s staff. According to the report, he later visited the plans and maps of several cities and townships prepared by engineers from the ministry.

The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing is one of the bodies responsible for urban policy-making, housing and township planning in Afghanistan. In recent years, Kabul has faced a growing population, expanding urbanisation and an increasing need for housing and basic urban services.