KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban authorities and Uzbek officials have signed five trade and investment agreements, stressing the importance of further strengthening bilateral relations in the future.
In a statement, the Taliban Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced that the agreements were signed on Saturday, August 17, in Kabul, in the presence of Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister, Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov, and Taliban Deputy Prime Minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
According to the statement, the agreements were signed between the Taliban’s Ministries of Mines and Petroleum, Agriculture and Irrigation, and Finance, and their counterparts in Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister was quoted in the Taliban statement expressing his country’s readiness to strengthen economic relations with the Taliban government.
The Taliban statement did not provide additional details about the agreements, including their values. However, Uzbekistan has significantly increased its economic and trade relations with the regime in Kabul over the past years.
In October last year, the country signed export-import agreements totaling approximately $1.2 billion with the regime in Kabul, aiming to reach $3 billion in the future. These agreements were formalized during a visit by a high-level delegation led by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Jamshid Khodjayev.
Uzbekistan also expressed its willingness to invest in cement production, coal extraction, and electricity infrastructure in Afghanistan.
After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, Uzbekistan was one of the few neighboring countries to maintain relations with the Taliban-led government without officially recognizing it. Uzbekistan also kept its embassy in Kabul open.
Uzbekistan officials and Taliban leaders held meetings in the months leading up to the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. After the Taliban took power, they quickly reached business agreements, and the Taliban pledged that Afghanistan territory would never be used to launch an attack on a neighboring country.
According to the statement, the Taliban Deputy Prime Minister expressed appreciation for Uzbekistan’s support and for maintaining good relations with the regime, expressing hope that this relationship will further strengthen in the future.
