Uzbekistan Sends 500-Member Delegation to Kabul

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — A delegation of about 500 people from Uzbekistan, led by a deputy prime minister, is arriving in Kabul. The delegation includes regional governors, senior government officials, representatives of major business groups and leading Uzbek companies, Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry said.

According to the ministry, the delegation will be one of the largest official and business delegations from Uzbekistan to visit Afghanistan.

The visit will include government-to-government (G2G) and business-to-business (B2B) talks with Afghan Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

The sides are expected to discuss expanding cooperation in energy, trade, transit, transport, healthcare, investment and industrial development, as well as other strategic areas. The chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries will participate in the talks.

Commercial agreements and memorandums worth millions of dollars are expected to be signed following the meetings.

Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry said the visit would mark another stage in the development of cooperation between the two countries. The ministry also highlighted Afghanistan's importance to regional economic connectivity and its efforts to transform the landlocked country into a transport and logistics hub connecting Central Asia with South Asia, the Middle East and other regions.

Uzbekistan supports the development of regional connectivity through Afghanistan, including the implementation of the Trans-Afghan railway, electricity transmission projects and the expansion of cross-border trade.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry said that amid changes in the regional environment, Afghanistan's stability and economic integration are becoming increasingly important for the sustainable development of the region.