Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Administrative Deputy Prime Minister, during his visit to Uzbekistan, held separate meetings with the country's Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjae, discussing the strengthening of political, economic, and cultural relations, TOLOnews reported on December 1.

The Deputy Spokesman of the Islamic Emirate stated that Hanafi, during his meeting with Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister, referred to the good relations between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, stressing the Islamic Emirate's desire to enhance and expand these ties in various fields with Tashkent.

He added that Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister expressed the readiness of Uzbek investors to extract Afghanistan's mines and highlighted the implementation of the Trans-Afghan project as beneficial for Afghanistan's economy and that of the region.

Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, said: "In this meeting, Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister expressed interest in expanding trade, transit, and mineral extraction in Afghanistan and other countries. In addition to emphasizing the implementation of the major Trans-Afghan project, he also discussed the benefits of this project for the involved countries."

The Chamber of Commerce and Investment called the high-level delegation's visit to Uzbekistan beneficial for improving trade and transit relations between the two countries. It stressed that the Islamic Emirate’s delegation should also work on increasing exports during such trips.

Jan Agha Nawid, spokesperson for the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: "Afghanistan and Uzbekistan are friendly countries under the current circumstances and have signed the most agreements. According to their reports, their trade volume with Afghanistan has exceeded two billion dollars, and this trend continues to grow."

"The more trade relations we have with other countries, the more it signifies that Afghanistan is secure and credible. This credibility indicates the presence of security, and we must further strengthen this security to encourage investors to invest in Afghanistan," said Zabihullah Islami, an economic analyst.

According to the statement from the Arg, the Administrative Deputy Prime Minister also met with Shaykh Nuriddin Kholiknazarov, the head of the Muslim Board in Uzbekistan and the Grand Mufti of Uzbekistan. Both sides regarded this visit as effective in consolidating and expanding relations and achieving shared benefits between the two countries.