ISLAMABAD: Uzbek Prime Minister Abdullah Aripov arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday in the highest-level visit by a foreign official since the Taliban returned to power three years ago.
Aripov, heading a delegation, was welcomed at the Kabul airport by Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, and other senior members of the government, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
During his visit, he met with Taliban leaders and discussed bilateral relations and strengthening trade and business between the two countries, the statement said. Five trade and investment agreements were signed.
They are also to inaugurate an exhibition of Uzbek products, the statement said.
Earlier in the week, an Uzbek delegation held meetings with officials from the Ministry of Commerce. On Friday, Afghan media reported that a trilateral meeting among the economy ministers of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan was held in Kabul to discuss ways to enhance trade ties.
Uzbekistan and Afghanistan share a 144-kilometer (89-mile) border and recently there has been an improvement in relations between them.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops were withdrawing from the country after 20 years of war. the world has so far not recognized Afghanistan’s Taliban government. The international community has been wary of the Taliban’s harsh measures, imposed since their takeover, especially in restricting the rights of women and minorities.
Uzbek prime minister is in Afghanistan in highest-level visit since the Taliban took power
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Uzbek prime minister is in Afghanistan in highest-level visit since the Taliban took power
- Five trade and investment agreements were signed
- They are also to inaugurate an exhibition of Uzbek products, the statement said
EU to suspend 93 billion euro retaliatory trade package against US for 6 months
- “With the removal of the tariff threat by the US we can now return to the important business,” Gill said
- The Commission will soon make a proposal “to roll over our suspended countermeasures”
BRUSSELS: The European Commission said on Friday it would propose suspending for another six months an EU package of retaliatory trade measures against the US worth 93 billion euros ($109.19 billion) that would otherwise kick in on February 7.
The package, prepared in the first half of last year when the European Union was negotiating a trade deal with the United States, was put on hold for six months when Brussels and Washington agreed on a joint statement on trade in August 2025.
US President Donald Trump’s threat last week to impose new tariffs on eight European countries over Washington’s push to acquire Greenland had made the retaliatory package a handy tool for the EU to use had Trump followed through on his threat.
“With the removal of the tariff threat by the US we can now return to the important business of implementing the joint EU-US statement,” Commission spokesman Olof Gill said.
The Commission will soon make a proposal “to roll over our suspended countermeasures, which are set to expire on February 7,” Gill said, adding the measures would be suspended for a further six months.
“Just to make absolutely clear — the measures would remain suspended, but if we need them at any point in the future, they can be unsuspended,” Gill said.
