Uzbekistan to assist Afghanistan in reconstruction of textile industry

The talks have been held at the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan with the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in order to discuss issues of further development of and cooperation in the sphere of trade-economic relations between the two countries, the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Trade stated July 18.
AVA- The observed positive dynamics in mutual trade were noted at the meeting. The bilateral trade turnover increased by 19 percent to $ 617.1 million last year.
Uzbekistan and Afghanistan have the opportunity to continue this trend, provided that all necessary favorable conditions for the development of trade and economic cooperation are created, stressed Sahib Saifnazarov the Uzbek Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade.
The Uzbek side made a number of proposals during the talks, including the involvement of Afghan investors into joint activities based on the principle of public-private partnership, as well as the creation of a border trade zone.
In addition, the Afghan side was invited to start working on the issue of establishing a free trade regime between the countries. The delegation of Afghanistan also expressed hope for the assistance of Uzbekistan in the restoration and development of the textile industry, namely in the exchange of experience and in training of specialists in this field.