Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 4
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
The agreement between the governments of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan on mutual provision of transit of goods through the territory of the two countries has come into force, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry stated.
The agreement was signed back on Dec. 5, 2017 during the official visit of President of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to Uzbekistan.
The document creates legal basis for interaction of the parties to simplify formalities and define mechanisms of cargo transit through territory of the two countries.
According to the provisions of the document, the parties mutually grant each other the right to transit goods through each other’s territories.
The document is aimed at creating favorable conditions for cargo transportation, increasing the transit potential of Uzbekistan and further strengthening trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Afghanistan has earlier offered Uzbekistan to establish a free trade regime. Uzbekistan and Afghanistan have also been planning to create a border trade zone specifically for Afghan consumers with possibility of introducing simplified currency control, visa, tax and customs regimes on its territory.
In recent years, there has been a positive trend in mutual trade with Afghanistan. For the first six months of 2018 the turnover has grown by 18 percent.
Today, 110 enterprises with participation of Afghan capital are operating successfully in Uzbekistan. At the same time, 8 enterprises with participation of residents of Uzbekistan have been established in Afghanistan.
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