Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan plans to create a free economic zone on the border with Afghanistan, which will host enterprises for processing pine nuts and cotton, as well as food production facilities, packaging plants, and logistics centers.

This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev during negotiations with a Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, according to the Taliban administration’s website.

Uzbek investors have expressed their willingness to invest in the construction of a cement plant in Afghanistan’s Samangan province, as well as in the exploration and extraction of mineral resources.

Additionally, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister noted that gas production at the Tuti-Maidan field in Afghanistan’s Faryab province is expected to commence in the near future.

The Taliban delegation arrived in Uzbekistan on 22 February for negotiations. It includes representatives of Afghanistan’s administration and relevant government agencies.

The Afghan delegation was welcomed by Jamshid Khodjaev, along with Ismatulla Irgashev, the Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan, and Abdul Ghaffar Bahr, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to Uzbekistan.