KABUL (TCA) — Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance on January 22 said that based on business and transit agreements signed between Kabul and Tashkent, Uzbekistan has lowered its transit fees for Afghan goods trucked through the country, TOLOnews reported.
Afghan Finance Minister Iklil Hakimi said that until now, Uzbekistan has charged $2,500 USD for every container full of goods that travels through the county, but the fees have now dropped to $1,250 USD.
Hakimi also said Afghanistan will in future be connected by road through Uzbekistan to Central Asian countries and Russia.
“In the past, for each 40ft container we paid around $2,500 USD but now we pay half of the amount and we did the same with Uzbekistan — we halved our fees,” said Hakimi.
Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) officials meanwhile said Uzbekistan is a good partner to Afghanistan in terms of transit and business and that the Afghan government should promote the relationship.
ACCI spokesman Seyam Pisarlay said Uzbekistan can play a vital role in helping Afghanistan to expand its trade relationships with other countries in the region.
“Uzbekistan is interested in all three sectors — transit, trade and investment, and we can also use Uzbekistan’s cargo centers,” said head of ACCI Khanjan Alkozai.
According to the ACCI, currently the trade volume between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan totals over US $400 million a year.
