Trade and economic ties between Tashkent and Kabul, despite the aggravation of the situation in Afghanistan caused by the change of power in the country, should soon be restored, said on Tuesday the director of Termez Cargo Center, the largest logistics terminal in southern Uzbekistan, Nodirbek Jalilov.
"I am confident that in the coming weeks, the volume of the two-way trade between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan will not only recover, but will rise," Jalilov said. In his opinion, the high degree corruption of Afghan officials had had a significant impact on the trade with Afghanistan.
"Under Ashraf Ghani, corruption was rampant and had penetrated into all areas, in particular, the international transport, as a rule, here, at the Termez-Hairaton checkpoint, exporters and transit countries paid all customs duties, but then, as they moved through Afghanistan, they were extorted to pay sums three or four times more," Jalilov explained. The Taliban, according to him, during their previous rule harshly suppressed the facts of such corruption.
According to Jalilov, earlier through the Termez-Hairaton checkpoint, up to 5 million tons of various cargoes were transported annually, about 70% of which went in transit through Afghanistan to the ports of Pakistan. Uzbekistan mainly supplied fuel and lubricants to Afghanistan, and Afghanistan exported its dried fruits to Europe in transit through Uzbekistan.
