Uzbekistan and the USA Expand Cooperation in Food Safety

The Food Security Committee of Uzbekistan reported that Uzbekistan and Afghanistan discussed the possibility of expanding agricultural and food trade, as well as cooperation on veterinary and phytosanitary issues.

The Chairman of the Committee, Azizbek Urunov, met with an Afghan delegation led by Mawlawi Sadar Azam Osmani, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock of Afghanistan.

According to the committee, on November 1, 2026, Uzbekistan exported 1.33 million tons of food products to Afghanistan worth 429.9 million US dollars. This volume of supplies exceeded the figure for the same period last year by 12.1%.

Discussion of Trade and Sanitary Issues

During the negotiations, the parties considered the need to complete the analysis of phytosanitary risks to permit the import of sweet cherries and apricots from Afghanistan. The issue of increasing the supply of Afghan potatoes to 300,000 tons was also discussed.

Another area of focus was accelerating the inclusion of meat processing enterprises from Afghanistan into the relevant registry. Furthermore, the parties discussed conducting an audit of the Afghan veterinary service and inspecting meat production facilities.

In addition, the two countries talked about expanding the export of Uzbek fish and fishery products to Afghanistan. Following the meeting, participants agreed to continue practical interaction on the raised topics, strengthen ties between relevant specialists, and resolve accumulated issues in stages.

The Ministry of Uzbekistan reported that negotiations between Uzbekistan and the United States took place in Washington on November 10–11, focusing on increasing the volume of trade and investment partnership. These meetings were headed by the Minister of Investments, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan, Laziz Kudratov.

During the talks, Kudratov held meetings with Howard Latnik, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Michael Jeramiah, Special Assistant to the U.S. President, and Michael DiMino, Pentagon advisor on Middle East and Central Asia policy. He also participated in the Business 20 (B20) summit.

The current state of economic ties and prospects for developing investment cooperation were discussed. Both sides noted positive dynamics in bilateral trade. According to the ministry's data, the volume of trade between Uzbekistan and the US exceeded 1 billion US dollars for the first time in 2025.

For the period from January to September 2026, bilateral trade reached 905 million US dollars, which is 20% more compared to the same period last year. Under the Cooperation Program, the parties are implementing 78 joint projects with a total value of 35 billion US dollars.

In Washington, Kudratov also met with leaders of American companies KBR and Plug Power, as well as representatives of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and other organizations. The implementation of current projects and the promotion of new joint initiatives were discussed.