ASTANA, June 11. /Dunyo IA/.  Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan Ilkhom Makhkamov met with the Head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), Mohammad Karim Hashimi, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing with the Kazakh online publication “Check-point.kz”.

The parties discussed the expansion of cooperation in transit and logistics, as well as measures to increase cargo transportation volumes between the two countries.

During the negotiations, particular attention was paid to improving the efficiency of cargo transportation, developing trade ties and more fully utilizing the transit potential of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

The meeting participants reviewed issues related to accelerating loading and unloading operations for Afghan imports and Uzbek exports, developing warehouse infrastructure, and constructing additional railway spur lines to the Hairatan and Naibabad stations.

Furthermore, parties discussed opportunities for increasing the volume of Afghan transit cargo through the territory of Uzbekistan and simplifying transportation from Chinese ports and Persian Gulf countries along Uzbek transit corridors.

The meeting also addressed expanding the network of quality control laboratories in Afghanistan and reviewing certain transport expenses that impact the operations of logistics companies.

Following the negotiations, Afghan side expressed readiness to work jointly with relevant agencies to address existing challenges and implement projects aimed at developing transit, logistics and regional trade.