KABUL (SW) – The three-day Afghanistan-Uzbekistan trade fair in Kabul ended on Monday, with the signing of 25 agreements worth $2.5 billion between the two countries, officials at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) of the Islamic Emirate stated.
Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Kabul Yadgarkhoja Shadmanov said at the end of the meeting and trade fair that the exhibition will expand economic and trade relations between the two countries and soon joint trade markets between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan will also be activated.
“During this visit, we signed agreements worth $2.5 billion,” the Uzbek ambassador to Kabul said at the closing ceremony of the exhibition. “We hope to continue our economic relations as friends with Afghanistan and in the near future, businessmen from both countries will start their business.”
The Uzbek ambassador to Kabul stressed the need to reopen the joint trade markets between the two countries in the near future and invited senior officials of the Islamic Emirate to the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, Nooruddin Azizi, acting minister of MoCI of the de-facto government, said at the closing ceremony of the exhibition that during the three-day meeting and trade exhibition, the two countries reached agreements on increasing trade volume, developing joint infrastructure, energy, mining and services projects.
“This exhibition provided a unique opportunity to deepen the brotherly relations between the two countries. Uzbekistan agreed with us and gave us 10 to 15 per cent discounts on exports. Today, with low cost, we can deliver goods to the markets of China and some other countries such as Russia through this country.”
The acting minister of MoCI also said that according to the commitment between the two countries, machinery and skilled engineers are scheduled to be transferred from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan within a week. According to him, Uzbekistan has given 10 to 75 per cent discounts on Afghan exports to Central Asia and China.
However, Khan Jan Alkozi, deputy head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, complained that Pakistan was trying to create problems and closing the transit routes for Afghan traders, saying, “We are trying to start trading through Central Asia. The fundamental work has been done and the practical work that remains, requires the action of neighboring countries. Five major contracts in the agriculture, railway, transportation and transit sectors of oil and gas were the best contracts at the exhibition.”
Alkozi added that hundreds of thousands of Kabul residents visited the three-day Afghanistan-Uzbekistan trade fair that opened in Kabul on Saturday.
