Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, Food and Drug Directorate, held an important meeting with a high-level Uzbek delegation led by Abdullah Azizov, Head of the Uzbek Agency for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry, aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector.
Kabul 24: During the meeting, Mawlawi Hamdullah Zahed, Deputy Minister for Food and Drugs at the Ministry of Public Health, highlighted regional challenges and ongoing conflicts. He emphasized that continuing such meetings despite difficulties demonstrates the commitment of both countries to developing and strengthening bilateral ties.
Zahed added that the two sides are also planning cooperation in pharmaceutical equipment and stressed that collaboration must be honest, transparent, and long-term.Zahed assured traders that the Afghan government would provide numerous facilities for their activities.
He proposed creating a joint package to enable direct communication between traders and manufacturers of both countries, especially as sea and air import routes face difficulties.On the Uzbek side, Abdullah Azizov reaffirmed the commitment to expanding pharmaceutical cooperation between Kabul and Tashkent.
He revealed that discussions with Nooruddin Azizi, Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, focused on increasing investment and pharmaceutical exports up to 500 million dollars.
Azizov noted that the leadership of both countries has set a target to raise bilateral trade volume — currently near three billion dollars — to five billion dollars in the coming years, with the pharmaceutical sector playing a significant role in this growth.
At the conclusion of the meeting, 13 commercial contracts worth more than 25 million US dollars were signed between the private sectors of the two countries in the fields of drug supply and production.
Ahmad Saeed Shams, President of the Afghan Union of Pharmaceutical Industry and Health Products, invited Uzbek investors to invest in Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical sector.
He stated: “We are ready to invest in Uzbek markets and also invite investors from Uzbekistan to come and invest jointly in Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical industry.”This meeting marks a concrete step toward greater self-sufficiency in medicines for Afghanistan and stronger exports from Uzbekistan.
Both sides emphasized improving drug quality, reducing dependence on distant imports, and developing joint production.
The expansion of pharmaceutical cooperation between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan is expected to improve access to quality medicines for the Afghan people while serving as a positive model for regional economic collaboration.
