Afghanistan ready to expand economic cooperation with China, Uzbekistan: Minister of Industry and Trade

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: The Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced that the Ministry's Minister Nooruddin Azizi attended the Sarkhan Darya-China Trade Forum held at the Tormoz International Trade Center on Tuesday.

 

According to the ministry, the meeting was attended by Jamshid Khajaev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Minister of Culture of the People's Republic of China, Olug Bek Qasimov, Governor of Sarkhan Darya, Maulvi Mohammad Yusuf Wafa, Governor of Balkh, Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar Bahr, Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to Tashkent, Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar Bahr, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ahmad Jan Bilal, CEO of Emirate Companies, and a number of representatives of the Afghan private sector were also present.

 

In his speech, the Minister of Industry and Commerce stressed the need to expand trade and economic relations, establish new transit corridors with Central Asia and China, develop joint cooperation and create new investment opportunities between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and China.

 

Azizi said Afghanistan's presence alongside representatives and trade partners of Uzbekistan and China is an important opportunity to strengthen regional economic cooperation.

 

"Afghanistan's relations with Uzbekistan have entered a new stage of economic cooperation in recent years," he said. The visits and meetings of officials and trade delegations of the two countries, the holding of trade meetings and the signing of agreements between the private sector have provided the ground for further development of trade, transit and investment.

 

The Minister of Industry and Trade also stressed the importance of developing Afghanistan's economic relations with the People's Republic of China and called China one of Afghanistan's important economic partners and a key player in developing regional connectivity and creating new trade chains between East, Central and South Asia.

 

He also stressed the need to develop Afghanistan's exports to regional markets, especially the Chinese market, and called for providing the ground for the transportation of Afghan export products through Uzbekistan's trade and transit networks to the Chinese market and other countries in the region.

 

Azizi said Afghanistan is ready to attract investment from Chinese and Uzbek companies in mining, agriculture, processing industries, energy, machinery, manufacturing and economic infrastructure.

 

He said joint investment and processing of raw materials inside Afghanistan could create sustainable and mutual benefits for the countries of the region.

 

Maulvi Mohammad Yousuf Wafa, the governor of Balkh province, while emphasizing the good and friendly relations between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, also spoke about ensuring nationwide security and investment opportunities in Balkh province.