Shavkat Mirziyoyev speaks with Ashraf Ghani over the phone

Today, August 2, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev had a telephone conversation with President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani.

The parties exchanged greetings on Eid al-Adha, sincerely wishing the fraternal peoples of the two countries peace, harmony and prosperity, the presidential press service said.

The sides noted with deep satisfaction the steadfast consolidation of the Uzbek-Afghan relations built on strong bonds of friendship and traditional good-neighborliness, common history, traditions and customs.

The telephone conversation has served to discuss pressing issues in the bilateral cooperation, primarily the enhancement of practical interaction in the economy, energy, transport and communications. Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Ashraf Ghani exchanged views on critical aspects of the regional agenda.

The two leaders expressed full support for the decisive measures taken in both countries to counter the spread of the coronavirus infection and control the epidemiological situation.

The importance of minimizing the negative impact of the pandemic and maintaining the dynamics of trade-economic relations was emphasized.

The Presidents attached specific importance on intensifying the efforts aimed at promoting priority infrastructure and investment projects towards Afghanistan’s sustainable development and its active engagement in regional economic processes.

In particular, it includes the creation of modern trade and logistics infrastructure in the border areas, implementation of major projects on the construction of power line Surkhan – Pul-e-Khumri and efficient transport corridors in Afghanistan, including with active involvement of international financial institutions and donor states.

The realization of joint educational, cultural and humanitarian exchange programs will continue.

The heads of state considered issues of peaceful settlement of the Afghan crisis and expressed full support for the efforts undertaken on the soonest launch of intra-Afghan negotiations.

President Ashraf Ghani highlighted the historic role of the Tashkent International Conference on Afghanistan held in March 2018, which accelerated the political resolution of the Afghan conflict.

The leaders of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan stressed their commitment to furthering the multilayered partnership in the interests of the two countries and the Central Asian region as a whole.