KABUL (TCA) — Uzbekistan’s companies are ready to invest in Afghanistan’s energy, agriculture, road construction and railway sectors, Tolo News reported citing Homaion Qiomi, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s advisor on infrastructure.
“Uzbekistan has good technical capacities and can invest in different sectors in Afghanistan,” Qiomi said at an Uzbekistan-Afghanistan trade relations conference in Kabul on January 3.
At the conference, Afghan minister of commerce and industries Homayun Rasa said that currently Afghanistan-Uzbekistan trade totals more than US $300 million annually.
“When we import goods from Pakistan, it takes nineteen days, but when we import from Uzbekistan, it takes nine days,” said Rasa.
Rasa also stated that in the near future a trade agreement will be signed between the two countries.
Mahmoud Baligh, the acting minister of public works of Afghanistan, said that once the agreement is in place, construction materials will be imported from Uzbekistan and that Uzbek companies will invest in road construction, bridges and railways in the country.
“We asked Uzbek companies to invest in road construction, railways and other sectors,” he said.
Afghan acting minister of transport and civil aviation, Mohammadullah Batash said Afghanistan had agreed with Uzbekistan to establish joint transportation companies.
Ferozuddin Feroz, Afghan minister of public health, said Uzbekistan has good quality medicine and that some necessary medicines will be imported from Uzbekistan.
“Uzbekistan has better quality medicines than some countries and this year a big part of the necessary medicine for government hospitals will be imported from Uzbekistan,” he said.
