Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan Hold Trilateral Meeting in Kabul

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the meeting focused on regional cooperation, the development of trade and transit, and attracting investment in Afghanistan.

“The Kazakhs and Uzbeks are trying to connect to South Asia through Afghanistan and implement global projects, and our officials should be prepared and cooperate,” said Mohammad Nabi Afghan, an economic affairs expert.

In addition, a bilateral meeting between delegations from Uzbekistan and Afghanistan was also held, where they discussed establishing trade houses in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan and investing in the Termez International Trade Center.

Meanwhile, the Chamber of Commerce and Investment said such meetings are crucial for the growth and development of trade.

The chamber officials added that in the last three years, around forty high-level regional delegations have visited Afghanistan to enhance and expand trade relations with Central Asian countries, and efforts are being made to increase exports.

“With the arrival of the Islamic Emirate, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is trying to reduce dependency on one country and turn to Central Asia. In three years, more than forty delegations at the level of ministers and deputy prime ministers have visited Afghanistan,” said Khan Jan Alokozay, a member of the ACCI’s board of directors.

Meanwhile, the charge d’affaires of the Islamic Emirate’s embassy in Islamabad, Sardar Ahmad Shakib, said in a virtual meeting that over two billion dollars of exports were made from Afghanistan to other countries last year, with $1.178 billion dollars worth of exports to Pakistan and $416 million dollars worth of exports to India.

Shakib said, “Last year, Afghanistan exported goods worth $2.025 billion, 36.3% of which were fresh and dried fruits. Among these, exports worth $1.178 billion were made to Pakistan, $416 million to India, $34 million to the UAE, $28 million to China, and $27 million to Iran.”

This comes as, in the past three years, representatives from several countries, including China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, the UK, Russia, Qatar, and the United States, have visited Afghanistan to expand and develop Afghanistan’s commercial and economic relations with regional and global countries. Among them, China and Qatar have already invested in Afghanistan.