Uzbekistan to discuss construction of trans-Afghan railway with Taliban

Monitoring Desk

BAKU: Uzbekistan and the Taliban movement (recognized as terrorist and banned in many countries) will soon hold talks in the Uzbek city of Termez on the construction of the Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway. This was reported by the press service of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry following the meetings of the delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov with the Taliban, held in Kabul on October 7, Fergana news agency reports .

First, Kamilov held talks with the deputy head of the interim government for political issues, Mulla Abdul Kabir. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi, Ministers of Transport and Civil Aviation, Public Works, Energy and Water Resources of Afghanistan. Then he spoke separately with acting. Foreign Minister Mawlavi Amirhon Muttaki.

At the upcoming meeting in Termez, the parties will discuss a number of issues of trade and economic nature, including the implementation of the construction project for the Surkhan-Puli-Khumri transmission line. The Taliban have pledged to ensure the safety of Uzbek specialists involved in the implementation of infrastructure projects in Afghanistan.

“The official Kabul also firmly stated that there would never be any threat to the security of brotherly Uzbekistan from the territory of Afghanistan,” the press service of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said. “The language and culture of our Uzbek compatriots, who have lived in Afghanistan for a long time, will continue to develop under the new government.”

At the talks on October 7, members of the interim government of Afghanistan thanked the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev “for great attention to the aspirations of the Afghan people, invaluable humanitarian assistance in order to prevent a large-scale food crisis.” Praised for the policy of “building a constructive and mutually acceptable dialogue with the new authorities of Afghanistan”, as well as for calling on the international community to unfreeze Afghan assets abroad

Separately, they expressed gratitude for assistance in restoring the activities of the Mazar-i-Sharif international airport and the uninterrupted operation of the Uzbek-Afghan border, through which food and other essential goods are delivered to the country on an ongoing basis.

In early September, Uzbekistan sent 1,300 tons of humanitarian aid to the Afghan province of Balkh – food, medicine and clothing. In mid-September, a main logistics center was established in Termez to assist Afghanistan in response to humanitarian problems in the country.