Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 12 May, a delegation from Uzbekistan led by Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov visited Afghanistan and held talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Afghan Foreign Ministry reported.

Ilkhom Makhkamov noted that he is accompanied by “a strong technical team from the private sector, railways, geology and mining.” He emphasized that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the government of Uzbekistan attach great importance to Afghanistan and support the initiative to make Afghanistan a transit hub in the region.

The Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan arrived with a team of engineers to develop a feasibility study for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway project. Another delegation from Uzbekistan is expected to visit in the coming weeks with equipment for the construction of the railway.

A technical team from Uzbekistan, specializing in geology and mining, will hold meetings with officials from the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum for oil and gas exploration and production.

Ilkhom Makhkamov expressed Uzbekistan’s readiness to provide round-the-clock customs and border services at border checkpoints, and also recalled the reduction of transport and transit tariffs.

Amir Khan Muttaqi noted progress in simplifying the issuance of visas for Afghan businessmen and drivers and called for expanding the issuance of visas for educational, medical and tourism purposes for Afghans.

Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan Ismatulla Irgashev said that Uzbekistan is working on issuing long-term visas for businessmen and drivers from Afghanistan, as well as visas for education, medicine and tourism.

Ismatulla Irgashev noted that a technical group will arrive in Kabul in the near future to purchase more than 1 million tons of coal. Engineers are also expected to arrive to begin construction work on the Imam Al-Bukhari Madrasah in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Uzbekistan also expressed its readiness to work with the Ministry of Information and Culture of Afghanistan in the construction and reconstruction of historical sites and shrines.

The delegation from Uzbekistan held meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs of Afghanistan Mawlawi Abdul Kabir and other officials of this country.