The first joint light industry exhibition of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan has opened in the city of Termez, with the participation of Taliban and Uzbek officials.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a newsletter on Wednesday, September 16 (25 Sunbula), that the exhibition was held to expand economic, trade, and manufacturing cooperation between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Nooruddin Azizi, Taliban Minister of Industry and Commerce, said at the opening ceremony that relations between the group and Tashkent have developed in recent years in trade, transit, and economic sectors, and efforts are now underway to move this cooperation from goods exchange to investment and joint production.
He described Afghanistan as having significant capacities in sectors such as carpets, textiles, clothing, leather products, food industries, and processed agricultural products.
According to him, Uzbekistan also has capacities in production, technology, textiles, machinery, and processing that can complement Afghanistan’s capabilities.
The exhibition emphasized holding trade meetings between businessmen of both countries and providing the ground for trade contracts and joint investment.
Also on the sidelines of the exhibition, a cooperation agreement was signed between Afghanistan’s Ghazanfar Bank and Uzbekistan’s Commodity Exchange “UzEx.”
Under this agreement, traders can pay 10 percent of the value of goods into their account at Ghazanfar Bank when purchasing and complete the remaining 90 percent after the goods are ready.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce says this agreement can facilitate the transaction process between traders of both countries and pave the way for Uzbek traders to purchase Afghan products.
The first joint Afghanistan-Uzbekistan light industry exhibition will run for three days, with more than 100 booths displaying products such as carpets, saffron, precious and semi-precious stones, handicrafts, cotton, dried fruits, and Afghan clothing alongside Uzbek manufactured products.
