Afghanistan, Uzbekistan Sign 20 Documents, 40 Contracts

President Ashraf Ghani and his Uzbek counterpart,  Shavkat Mirziyoyev, signed 20 bilateral cooperation documents and 40 contracts in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on Tuesday.

The signed agreements which worth more than $500 million aimed at further strengthening of cooperation in political, trade-economic, investment, transport-communication, scientific, education and other spheres.

The documents also included deals on a new power line from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan and Tashkent’s involvement in construction of a new railway line connecting the Afghan cities of Herat and Mazar-e Sharif.

“Today we signed agreements that create the legal and proper framework of state to state cooperation on our key desires and wishes,” Ghani said. “My proposal is that 2018 is going to be the year of delivery, the year of implementation in the relentless pursuit of translating our goals into deliverable.”

The Uzbek leader Mirziyoyev said that they have reviewed typical issues of cooperation and have exchanges views on the regional and international issues, particularly, combating terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking and strengthening the security in Central Asia.

He added that Uzbekistan supports all construction initiatives aimed at establishing peace and stability in Afghanistan.