Afghan entrepreneurs and business representatives from Uzbekistan's Kashkadarya region have signed 20 trade agreements worth a combined $267 million, Afghanistan's Ministry of Industry and Trade announced, as reported by Pajhwok Afghan News.
The deals were concluded on August 30 in Kabul during a business meeting between private-sector representatives from the two countries. Attendees included Afghanistan's Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Ahmadullah Zahid; Kashkadarya's Deputy Governor, Shukhrat Muradov; Uzbekistan's ambassador to Kabul; and a range of entrepreneurs and investors.
According to the Afghan ministry, the agreements cover supplies of food products, textiles, and construction materials, along with cooperation in livestock farming, electronics manufacturing, and furniture production.
Zahid said that mutual delegation visits have helped strengthen economic ties and boost trade volumes between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. He called for simplifying trade and transit procedures and removing remaining obstacles to business. He also emphasized the importance of transit for Afghanistan and said the ministry is ready to discuss with Uzbekistan the transport of Afghan export goods through Uzbek territory.
Muradov, for his part, said Kashkadarya region is ready to welcome Afghan delegations and entrepreneurs and to help facilitate the transport of Afghan exports to Uzbekistan and beyond.
The new agreements mark the latest step in the rapid expansion of economic ties between the two countries. In July, an Afghan-Uzbek business forum held in Kabul concluded with the signing of another 22 trade agreements. Roughly 600 entrepreneurs, investors, and government officials from both countries took part.
At the time, Afghanistan's Minister of Industry and Trade, Nuriddin Azizi, said he hoped to raise annual trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to $5 billion. Uzbekistan also signaled its readiness to develop logistics infrastructure, establish trade centers, and invest in Afghanistan's energy, agricultural, and industrial sectors.
For Kabul, deepening trade ties with Uzbekistan carries particular weight amid ongoing difficulties at the Afghan-Pakistani border. Uzbekistan offers Afghanistan an alternative route for trade and transit into Central Asia.
That said, the August 30 agreements were signed strictly between private-sector representatives. Afghan authorities have not yet disclosed timelines for implementing specific projects or the volume of actual deliveries under these deals.
