Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with Taliban Minister of Industry and Trade Nuruddin Azizi on the sidelines of an international investment conference in Tashkent yesterday.
The main focus of the meeting was the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries and the expansion of cooperation in the fields of energy, mines, transit, agriculture, and logistics.
Nuruddin Azizi traveled to Uzbekistan at the official invitation of Tashkent to participate in the conference.
During the visit, he also met with Uzbek Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade Laziz Kudratov and signed a preferential trade agreement and an action plan for bilateral cooperation.
The Taliban Ministry of Industry and Trade announced in a statement that the signing of this document will reduce trade barriers between the two countries and provide better access for companies to each other’s markets.
Although Uzbekistan, like other countries, does not recognize the Taliban government, economic relations between the two sides have been expanding in recent years.
Tashkent has previously stressed that dialogue with Taliban officials is a necessity to prevent Afghanistan’s isolation.
“Peaceful and sustainable development in Afghanistan, especially through international dialogue, is of vital importance,” Mirziyoyev said in his speech at the Tashkent Investment Forum. “The stability of this country is a key factor for the progress of the entire region.”
Uzbekistan is one of the few neighboring countries that has extensive economic interactions with the Taliban.
Uzbek Prime Minister Abdullah Arifov also visited Kabul in August 2024 and signed agreements worth $2.5 billion with the Taliban.
The two sides have set a goal to increase the volume of trade between the two countries to three billion dollars in the near future.
