James Durso
Now that the U.S.-led punitive expedition to Afghanistan has ended, regional trade patterns are returning to normal, as in pre-Soviet Union normal, enhanced by China’s Belt and Road Initiative and local efforts, like the Uzbekistan-Pakistan-Afghanistan (UAP) Railway Project.
In August, the government of Uzbekistan announced the opening of the Termez International Trade Center, in the border town of Termez, the location of the Friendship Bridge that connects Termez with the Afghan dry port of Hairatan.
As the center has a regional role the governments of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were represented at the opening that was presided over by the Uzbek prime minister, Abdulla Aripov, and the acting prime minister of Afghanistan, Abdul Ghani Baradar, latterly seen negotiating the Doha Accord with the U.S.
Underscoring Uzbekistan’s interest in firming relations with Afghanistan, Prime Minister Aripov visited the Afghan capital of Kabul two weeks before the Termez opening. That visit resulted in 35 investment and trade agreements worth $2.5 billion, with a goal of increasing bilateral trade to $3 billion. Simultaneously, Kabul hosted a trilateral meeting of the economy ministers of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan on ways to enhance regional trade ties.
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