In this context, Uzbekistan, considering the intensification of the political dialogue, trade-
economic and cultural-humanitarian cooperation as the most effective factor in the settlement
of the situation in Afghanistan, takes concrete practical measures to intensify bilateral
cooperation.
During several meetings with leaders of foreign countries, including the President of
Afghanistan, as well as in his speeches, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat
Mirziyoyev outlined that Uzbekistan remains committed to conducting a friendly and pragmatic
policy towards Afghanistan.
Thanks to the serious intentions of the parties to build constructive and friendly relations,
over the past 2017 the cooperation of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan has received a new impetus,
which can be declared as unprecedented.
High level contacts - meetings of the heads of states, ministries and departments have
become regular. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Afghan leader Ashraf Ghani
met in the framework of the SCO and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (Astana) summits,
the UN General Assembly (New York).
In this context, it should be noted that the establishment of the institution of the Special
Representative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Afghanistan in May 2017 once
again demonstrated the special relationship of the Uzbek leadership to the development of
comprehensive relations with Afghanistan.
Special attention was paid to the outcomes of the visit of Afghan President A.Gani to
Uzbekistan in December 2017, during which agreements on the implementation of the project
for the construction of the Surkhan-Puli Khumri railway line and the Mazar-e Sharif-Herat railway,
20 documents and 40 export contracts with more than 500 million dollars were signed.
During the meeting, as a sign of sincere friendship on
behalf of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 25
buses of “Isuzu” brand and 3 modern tractors of “New
Holland” brand produced in Uzbekistan were donated to
Afghanistan.
Highlighting cooperation in energy sector we should
note that compared to 2002, the volume of electricity
supplies from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan increased by 30
times. At the same time, since January 2018, Uzbekistan has
lowered the price of electricity supplied to Afghanistan from 7 to 5 cents. In this vein, we are
convinced that launching the Surkhan-Puli Khumri transmission line will help solve energy
shortages and create new enterprises and jobs.
Moreover, the construction of the new Mazar-i-Sharif-Herat railway will also make a
significant contribution to the economic reconstruction of Afghanistan.
According to preliminary data, after the launch of the railway, the foreign trade turnover of
the Afghanistan will increase by 50%, and the projected volume of cargo transit will be about 5
million tons per year.
As a result of 2017, the volume of trade increased by 15%, amounting about 600 million
US dollars. By the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, in 2017, the roadmap was adopted
on the development of cooperation, full implementation of which will allow significantly increase
the trade turnover in the coming years bringing its volume to 1.5 billion US dollars.
In order to create additional conditions for enhancing cooperation between two states, the
international logistics center with a customs terminal was established in Termez. This “Cargo-
center” aims to facilitate export-import and transit traffic between two countries with access to
the markets of Europe and Asia.
Considering the key role of education of Afghan citizens in ensuring security and stability
in Afghanistan the educational center was opened in Termez city in January this year where
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