Business
Afghanistan-Uzbekistan ink new deal to maintain Hairatan-Mazar railway line
An Afghan government delegation has signed a new two-year contract with Uzbekistan for the maintenance of the Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railway line.
This comes after Uzbekistan suspended operations early this month for 10 days.
The new contract for the maintenance of the railway line was signed during the Afghan delegation’s visit to Uzbekistan, officials confirmed.
Operations were suspended on February 1, which caused major problems for traders. However, operations resumed on Friday and there has been a steady increase in the volume of goods being transported on the line.
“The road was closed and people were facing many problems. We now see that 100 to 150 wagons arrive daily, and the problem seems to have been solved,” said Abdullah Abdali, a representative of the Prime Minister’s office.
Late last year, Afghanistan signed a contract for the maintenance and management of the line with a Kazakh company but the deal fell through and instead a new agreement was signed with Uzbekistan.
Now however, the contract has been signed with an Uzbek company and is valid for two years.
Bakht-ur-Rahman Sharaft, the General Director of Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) said: “They (Uzbeks) did not want those who we had an agreement with to be in the Hairatan port at the same time as Uzbekistan. We realized that they cannot manage and coordinate among themselves. We had to give the contract back to the brother country of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan also gave a discount.”
Meanwhile, an Uzbekistan official said that they will support Afghanistan in its efforts to extend the line to Pakistan.
“As a result of our talks with the Afghan delegation, we agreed to cooperate with the Afghan government for the extension of the railway line to Pakistan,” Jamshed Baba Qul said.
Business
Azizi calls on Malaysian investors to invest in Afghanistan
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior of Malaysia, along with other senior officials, on Wednesday and called on Malaysians to invest in Afghanistan.
The visiting delegation is being led by senior diplomat Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.
According to the IEA’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed bilateral trade, holding a business communication conference to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, the trade balance between Afghanistan and Malaysia, and creating a market for Afghan products, including carpets, cotton, and minerals.
According to the ministry, at the end of the meeting, the Acting Minister emphasized the increase of investment from regional countries in Afghanistan and called on Malaysian investors to also invest in Afghanistan.
Business
Afghanistan starts exporting via railway to Turkey
The Ministry of Interior says that Afghanistan has started exporting goods to Turkey via the Herat-Khaf railway line.
In a post on X, the ministry said: “Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey started in a calm atmosphere through the Herat-Khaf railway line.”
The ministry added that one train will run daily for a month and then two trains will run daily.
According to the ministry, the security of Khaf-Herat railway line is provided by the guards of the National Public Protection Agency.
Khaf-Herat railway project not only connects Iran and Afghanistan by rail, but also completes a 2,000-kilometer route along the east-west rail corridor from China, through Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan, to Iran, and on to Turkey and Europe.
As a landlocked country, this railway network will provide a safe route to connect with Europe via Iran’s railway network and Iran’s southern ports.
This railway line is strategic for trade between Iran and Afghanistan and will allow six million tons of goods to be sent between the two countries.
Business
Afghanistan, Kazakhstan to hold joint expo in Kabul
A joint expo between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be held in Kabul in the next four days, officials said on Sunday.
Officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the two-day expo will be held for the purpose of expanding and strengthening trade relations between the two countries.
“This expo will be held as a follow-up of the Kazakh-Afghan international expo, which was held in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of a large delegation of the government and the private sector of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdulsalam Javad Akhundzadeh, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said.
“At this expo, domestic products from different sectors of Afghanistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be put on display for two days.”
According to officials, 40 large Kazakh companies, and 40 large Afghan companies will exhibit their products.
Mohammad Saber Latifi, head of the Afghanistan International Expo Center, said that fruits, minerals and commercial services will be displayed at the expo.
During the expo, various memorandums of understanding for the trade of goods are also expected to be signed by companies.
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