Issues of economic reconstruction of Afghanistan, practical aspects of expanding cooperation in transport, energy, trade, agriculture, education and health were discussed during the first meeting of the Subcommittee on Economics of the format of trilateral cooperation “Uzbekistan – United States – Afghanistan”, held on July 21, 2020 under the chairmanship of the Uzbek side.

At the event, which was held via videoconference, the delegation of Uzbekistan was led by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Farhod Arziyev and First Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade, Laziz Kudratov, the U.S. delegation – Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asia Affairs, Public Diplomacy and Press, Jonathan Henick and Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator of USAID, Nitin Madhav, Afghan delegation – Deputy Foreign Minister, Mirwais Nab and Acting Deputy Minister for Industry and Commerce, Abdul Karim Malikyar.

First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Farhod Arziyev, noted that Uzbekistan considers this format as a popular mechanism for promoting mutually beneficial projects in trade, investment, infrastructure development, education and health, which are important both for the countries participating in the trilateral dialogue and the entire Central Asia.

At the videoconference, the need was noted for granting Afghanistan the status of a full member of the Framework Agreement between the United States and Central Asian countries on trade and investment, accelerating the implementation of such key projects for the Afghan economy as the construction of Surkhan – Puli-Khumri power transmission line and Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul railway routes.

Special attention was paid to the importance of using the potential of the Educational Center in Termez to train Afghan citizens and organize short-term and long-term courses for Afghan specialists of various profiles on its basis.

In accordance with the agenda, panel discussions were organized on increasing cooperation in cross-border energy, trade and agriculture, healthcare and pharmaceutical supplies, transport and route safety.

Following the meeting, an agreement was reached on holding expert meetings in a narrow format on specific areas and projects.

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