Uzbek President Receives Visiting Afghan Leader

Posted 03/05/2002 Uzbek TV - BBC Monitoring

An Afghan delegation headed by the head of the interim government of Afghanistan, Hamed Karzai, is continuing its 2-day visit to Uzbekistan. Today the interim prime minister of Afghanistan has been received by President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan. The meeting focused on regional security and the restoration of Afghanistan. Hamed Karzai, who is on a two-day visit to Tashkent, thanked the Uzbek leadership for its assistance in the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan. Today Uzbekistan is expected to give humanitarian aid to Afghanistan worth 350,000 dollars. Peace and stability in Afghanistan is beneficial for our country, both from the point of view of security and the economy. Neighbouring states will live in peace if Afghanistan lives in peace. This in turn will push investors towards investing both in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. From an economic point of view Uzbekistan will get access to the Indian Ocean via Afghanistan. Third, Uzbekistan will have the opportunity to enter the world market, reach the Persian Gulf via Afghanistan and sell electricity.