Today, on the sidelines of the Economic Cooperation Organization Summit in Khankendi, the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with the acting First Deputy PM of Afghanistan for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
According to the presidential press service, the parties commended the steady growth of bilateral trade figures and the number of joint ventures, as well as the stepped up business contacts.
In May, Uzbekistan opened trading houses in Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif, and in June, the countries signed a Preferential Trade Treaty
Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of developing cross-border trade, creating the necessary infrastructure, promoting joint projects in the mining, textile, pharmaceutical industries, in the production of building materials and processing of agricultural products.
The parties also stressed the importance of expediting the implementation of a strategic regional project: the Trans-Afghan Railway project.
The Deputy PM Baradar visited Tashkent in February and met with Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov. Then the parties agreed to reduce duties on 10 goods, and also discussed Uzbek investments in gas production and a cement plant, and a reduction in the cost of a power transmission line by $30 million.
On June 11, the President of Uzbekistan hosted the acting Minister of Industry and Trade of Afghanistan Nuriddin Azizi. They discussed expanding cooperation in the trade and economic, transport and logistics, energy and agricultural sectors, in the field of geological exploration and mining.
About the project
In February 2021, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a roadmap in Tashkent for the Mazar-i-Sharif - Kabul - Peshawar railway project The project was scheduled to be prepared in May, and construction of the road to begin in September 2021. But the change of power in Afghanistan slowed down the project. However, in December, the caretaker government of Afghanistan joined the project. On July 18, 2022, expeditionary work began on the territory of this country to determine the route of the Trans-Afghan Railway and the feasibility study of the project.
The Uzbek Institute "Boshtransloyiha" estimated the cost of the project at $4.6 billion, Pakistan - at $8.2 billion. According to media reports, the project is estimated at between $4.8 billion and $6 billion. It involves the construction of a 573-km highway with a transit potential of up to 20 million tons of cargo per year. The new transport corridor should connect the European Union, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and further to the states of Southeast Asia.
At the same time, the line will support both freight and passenger transportation.
According to estimates from the Uzbek authorities, cited by Dawn in July 2023, the railway will reduce the time of delivery of goods between Uzbekistan and Pakistan by about five days. The cost of transporting goods will also be reduced by at least 40%. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, and by 2030 the trains will be able to transport up to 15 million tons of cargo per year.
The Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov noted in early February that construction of the Trans-Afghan Railway is planned to begin in 2025.
