- Termez International Trade Center Opens in Uzbekistan, Fostering Silk Road Connectivity
- Termez International Trade Center will boost business, logistics, friendship, cooperation, and economic development partnership between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan
- Termez city is located on the border Uzbekistan, a vital country along the ancient Silk Road.
- The Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of Afghanistan, the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, and high-ranking officials from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan attended the inauguration ceremony of “Termez International Trade Center”
- Tashkent to enhance trade and transit relations with Kabul: Uzbek Prime Minister
By: Muhammad Arif, Editor NSN.Asia
Termez : “Termez International Trade Center”, facilitating business and logistics, was inaugurated on Thursday, marking a new chapter of friendship, cooperation, and economic development partnership between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Termez center, a new international trade gateway, is located on the border of Uzbekistan, a vital country along the ancient Silk Road.
The inauguration ceremony of “Termez International Trade Center” was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of Afghanistan, the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, and high-ranking officials from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Termez International Trade Center, Mullah Abdul Ghani Bardar, said that the center will enhance investment opportunities, commercial relationships, and job creation in both nations, and will introduce new markets for products and goods, and, overall, accelerate economic growth, according to a statement released by his office.
Highlighting the importance of the center, Mullah Baradar mentioned that the center’s inauguration would facilitate the production, processing, and export of goods, making it easier to access regional and global markets.
“Termez International Trade Center will positively impact the economic relations between the two countries and establish the center as a key economic hub and commercial gateway for Central and South Asian nations”, he said.
Furthermore, the trade center will strengthen joint cooperation between the two countries in the fields of technology and innovation under the Silk Road Spirit of cooperation.
According to Mullah Baradar, the center will create essential facilities and opportunities for Afghan and Uzbek traders, enabling them to find suitable markets for their products and actively contribute to the region’s economic development.
He called on the international community to establish appropriate reciprocal economic and trade relations with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in line with its economy-focused policies, and assured that the Islamic Emirate is committed to providing all necessary support and facilitation in this regard.
Also, Trade Center was set up with an aim to facilitate doing and simplify administrative procedures for transit trade.
“The Uzbek and Afgan officials voiced confidence that Termez International Trade Center would become an important platform for expanding trade relations and implementing joint projects in our region. The center discussed the conditions created for Afghan nationals to trade, use education, medicine and other social services,” the official statement reported.
Alongside the trade event, Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs held meeting with Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister, Abdulla Aripov.
Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister, Abdulla Aripov, has pledged to facilitate the export of fresh Afghan fruits to Central Asian countries through Uzbek territory, said the official sources of Taliban.
According to a statement from Baradar’s office, the Uzbek Prime Minister emphasised on Afghanistan’s significance in Uzbekistan’s foreign policy and expressed Tashkent’s readiness to enhance trade and transit relations with Kabul.
In addition to fruit exports, Uzbekistan expressed willingness to collaborate on other key projects, including the development of the railway network from Hairatan to Herat, gas extraction, and the construction of retaining walls along the Amu Darya River.
Though Uzbekistan, like many other countries, has not officially recognised the Taliban government, but it continues to maintain close political and economic ties with the group.
During his meeting with Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Baradar encouraged both the Azerbaijani government and its private sector to invest in Afghanistan.
Azerbaijan, in turn, expressed its readiness to reactivate the Lapis Lazuli trade route to boost economic ties with Afghanistan.
