President of Uzbekistan meets with the President of Afghanistan

    International cooperation 15 July 2021 2935

    On July 15, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, who arrived in Uzbekistan to attend the International Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities”.

    Prospects for interaction on ensuring regional security and sustainable development were considered.

    The Leaders of the two countries once again stated the impossibility of a military solution to the Afghan conflict and called for an early resumption of inclusive inter-Afghan negotiations.

    President Shavkat Mirziyoyev confirmed Uzbekistan’s readiness to actively assist in achieving sustainable peace in Afghanistan.

    The parties noted with satisfaction the ongoing development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Despite the pandemic, in the first five months of this year, the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 50 percent. 160 enterprises with the participation of Afghan capital were newly created in Uzbekistan.

    The importance of further promoting joint transport and energy infrastructure projects aimed at both strengthening the connectivity between the regions of Central and South Asia and enhancing the transit potential of Afghanistan, in particular, the implementation of projects for the construction of Termez – Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar railway and construction of a new power line Surkhan – Puli-Khumri was noted.

    The parties emphasized their firm commitment to further development of bilateral and regional cooperation, ensuring the practical implementation of the agreements reached.