The International Trade Centre was opened on 29 August 2024 at Termez, the border town between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. It is located on the Uzbek territory.
The sprawling complex covers an area of 36 hectares. The project cost was USD 70 million.
The centre will play an important role in the development of trade and export of industrial and consumer goods produced by entrepreneurs from Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries.
According to experts, 1.5 million people will visit the complex annually, and the annual sales volume will amount to 1 billion 200 million dollars.
The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev, Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic Nazarbek Malayev, Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kairat Toreboev and others.
The event was addressed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov and the Acting Prime Minister of Afghanistan Baradar Mullah Abdul Ghani.
Kholmumin MAMATRAYIMOV, the correspondent of the Uzbek news service UzA was present at the ceremony. Here is an abridged version of his report:
The free trade zone “International Trade Center Termez”, created on the border of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan in the Termez district of the Surkhandarya region, has been put into operation.
The ceremony was attended by government officials from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, major manufacturers, entrepreneurs, labor veterans and youth.
The free trade zone “International Trade Center Termez”, which was put into operation on the eve of the 33rd anniversary of our independence, was created directly on the initiative of the head of our state.
The Center, launched in accordance with the Decree of the President “On measures for the further development of the activities of special economic and small industrial zones in the Surkhandarya region and the city of Tashkent” dated November 12, 2020, develops regional trade and creates favorable conditions for the export of products, the export of domestic products to foreign markets, serves to ensure good-neighborly relations between the Uzbek and Afghan peoples through further improvement and development of economic ties.
Within the framework of the privileges created in the free trade zone, all citizens of foreign countries are given the opportunity to stay in the center and leave Uzbekistan for 15 days without an entry visa. A multicurrency system has been introduced: Uzbek sums, US dollars, euros, Russian rubles and yuan are in circulation here. All goods arriving on the territory of the center are placed and released without customs duties. Banks, notary offices and other public service centers have been established in the region. The complex also includes the Hilton Garden Inn hotel, the modern Akfa Medline medical complex, the Central Asia University business school, a large shopping center, a restaurant, a hostel, a large logistics center and manufacturing plants. A daily bus service has been established from Mazar-i-Sharif for those arriving from Afghanistan.
The International Trade Centre is considered an important part of the Karachi-Termez-Tashkent-Kazakhstan-Russia transport corridor and provides access to the ports of the Indian Ocean.
The large complex has created conditions for receiving, storing and processing products based on modern technologies, and quick clearance of goods according to the “Single Window” principle.
Akfa Medline Ayritom Clinic has 315 qualified doctors and other medical specialists who provide quality services in the radiology, dentistry, physiotherapy and outpatient departments.
More than 500 Afghan entrepreneurs will be able to improve their skills in trade and production at training courses organized at the Central Asia University Business School. All students will be provided with dormitory accommodation with the necessary amenities.
The shopping center will soon begin manufacturing doors and frames “Imzo” with a projected value of 4.5 million dollars. As a result of the new project, the budget will receive 150 million soums per year, which will provide employment for 25 people. The jewelry and semi-finished jewelry manufacturing enterprise “TERMEZ GOLD PRODUCTION” and the lighting equipment manufacturing enterprise “CITY-ELECTRIC GROUP” will also begin operating.
At the opening of the trade zone, demonstrating our centuries-old good-neighbourly and friendly relations, the participants got acquainted with the modern centre.
Here is some additional information from TOLOnews of Afghanistan:
On the sidelines of this inauguration, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with several Uzbek officials, including the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, and discussed the development of commercial relations and the attraction of investment.
Baradar added that the opening of this center would increase investment opportunities, trade relations, and employment in both countries.
Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, regarding the visit of the Islamic Emirate delegation to the border city of Termez and the inauguration of this center, said: “During the opening of this center, the Economic Deputy of the Prime Minister said that with the opening of this center, an important step will be taken in mutual trade relations and regional cooperation.”
The Prime Minister of Uzbekistan has stated that Tashkent is ready to provide facilities for exporting Afghanistan’s fresh fruits to Central Asian and other countries.
Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, the First Deputy of the Chamber of Industries and Mines, commented on the importance of such trips: “The visits of high-level Uzbek delegations to Afghanistan, as well as the multiple visits of Afghan delegations to that country, demonstrate the development of our trade relations with Uzbekistan, enabling us to utilize each other’s capacities.”
The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment says that Afghan investments in the Termez International Trade Center can boost exports from Afghanistan.
Khan Jan Alokozai, a board member of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “The conditions here are very easy, and anyone can easily invest; Afghans can also bring their goods here and sell them.”
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar also met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan. Baradar welcomed the opening of that country’s embassy in Kabul and urged Azerbaijan’s private sector to invest in Afghanistan.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan also emphasized that his country is ready to reactivate the Lapis Lazuli route to expand its trade relations with Afghanistan and increase the level of imports.
Mir Shekib Mir, an economic analyst, commented on relations with Azerbaijan, saying: “Azerbaijan’s cooperation with Afghanistan in facilitating access to European markets through the transport of Afghan goods via the Lapis Lazuli route could be beneficial for Afghanistan’s trade.”
This comes less than two weeks after a delegation led by the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan visited Afghanistan, resulting in the signing of 35 investment and trade agreements worth $2.5 billion between Kabul and Tashkent. /// nCa, 30 August 2024 (pictures credit UzA)