Taliban’s deputy PM leads high-level delegation to Tashkent

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A high-level delegation from the Taliban interim government, led by Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdulghani Baradar, departed from Kabul for Tashkent today, February 22. The visit, scheduled for two days, aims to strengthen political, economic, trade, and transit cooperation between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, while also seeking to attract Uzbek investment into Afghanistan, Ariana News reported.

The delegation includes key figures from the Taliban government:

• Hidayatullah Badri – Minister of Minerals and Petroleum;
• Hamidullah Akhundzoda – Minister of Transport and Aviation;
• Nuriddin Azizi – Minister of Industry and Trade;
• Ataullah Omari – Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock;
• Nur Ahmad Agha – President of Da Afghanistan Bank;
• Abdul Matin Saeed – Deputy Minister of Finance for Revenue and Customs.

This visit follows a previous engagement in October 2023, when a delegation of Uzbek religious scholars visited Kabul at the official invitation of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Guidance, Hajj, and Endowments under the Taliban administration.