Deputy prime minister for economic affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, on Monday met with a delegation of investors from Uzbekistan.

During the meeting, the Uzbek investors expressed their interest in investing in Afghanistan’s mining sector, particularly in coal mining and processing, as well as coal-based electricity production, said Baradar’s office in a statement.

They also discussed plans for building a standard oil refinery, establishing a cement factory, extracting and processing salt, setting up textile factories, and implementing e-governance initiatives.

The Uzbek investors highlighted that Afghanistan has become an attractive destination for investment and emphasized their readiness to invest and share their expertise in these sectors.

Meanwhile, the Baradar expressed his gratitude to the Uzbek investors for their interest and assured them of the IEA’s full cooperation to facilitate their investment endeavors in Afghanistan.

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The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) says Uzbekistan investors are interested in investing in coal mining in Afghanistan.

The ministry officials said that these investors intend to export coal from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan.

They added that the talks with Uzbekistan are ongoing and progress has been made in this field in the early stages.

However, they have stated that they have not yet reached the point of agreement.

Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) officials also stated that there are capacities in the area of economic activities and development of joint investment with Uzbekistan and all Central Asian countries.

According to them, practical use of these capacities should be started.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum added that the Islamic Emirate has stopped the illegal mining of coal, and mining is carried out legally all over the country based on the permit of large companies.

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The Ministry of Commerce and Industry says the acting minister has ordered the installation of scanners at the country’s border crossings that deal with imports and exports.

According to a newsletter published by the ministry, the issue was discussed at the first meeting of the leadership committee of the private sector support fund.

Nooruddin Azizi, the acting minister of commerce and industry, said at the meeting that the scanners need to be purchased and installed at land ports to facilitate the import and export of goods.

In this meeting, there was a discussion about the financing mechanism and ways to spend the private sector support fund. Issues around collecting customs fees for imports and exports were also discussed as was the need to open a bank account for the fund.

A decision was also taken to introduce permanent members of the support fund to the leadership committee.

In conclusion, the ministry stated that the financing mechanism and the method of spending of the private sector support fund have been finalized.

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