Mullah Baradar meets Uzbek, Turkmen officials

KABUL (TOLONews): The Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of the Islamic Emirate held separate meetings on the sidelines of the ECO summit with Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the President of Uzbekistan, and Rashid Meredov, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan.

The talks focused on economic, transit, and trade cooperation with Afghanistan’s neighboring countries.

Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, stated that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, referring to more than $1 billion in trade with Uzbekistan, expressed hope that the figure would increase to $2 billion.

He also requested facilitation for the transit of Afghan goods to Central Asia via Uzbekistan.

During the meeting, the President of Uzbekistan expressed readiness to invest in various sectors, including the Balkh–Herat–Kandahar railway project, textile factories, cement production, oil refining plants, salt mine extraction and processing, e-governance, and more.

In his meeting with Rashid Meredov, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs emphasized the importance of the TAPI and TAP projects, stating that the TAP project’s design has been completed by the Afghan side, and efforts are underway to begin work soon.

According to Fitrat, the Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister also assured cooperation in advancing the TAPI and TAP projects.