Expert: Afghan direction may become additional driver for Uzbek-Japanese relations

 Uzbekistan and Japan could develop a common long-term approach to how to use the Afghan direction as an additional driver for the development of bilateral relations, political analyst Rustam Makhmudov said.

According to him, a possible common approach could include three components. Firstly, the implementation of joint Japanese-Uzbek production projects in Uzbekistan, the products of which could be delivered to the Afghan market. 

“Taking into account that Afghanistan actually imports most of its industrial and consumer goods, the range of products can be quite wide. While exporting goods worth $884 million in 2018, the country’s import amounted to $7.4 billion,” the expert said, speaking during a roundtable organized by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies.

The second direction is the creation of tripartite value chains and supplies with the participation of Uzbek, Japanese and Afghan companies. “Of course, the security situation in Afghanistan is still worrying, but we can still consider the possibility of creating some of their elements in the economic centers of the country’s northern provinces,” Makhmudov said.

He also suggests creating Afghanistan-oriented regional value chains. Thanks to the new policy of openness in Central Asia, the expert points out, there is a boom in bilateral trade, and new business opportunities are opening up. 

“In fact, a course has been taken to create a unique space of opportunities in Central Asia with the inclusion of Afghanistan. Japanese capital and companies would certainly be in demand in this space,” Makhmudov noted.