Uzbekistan has said it will reconstruct the Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi International Airport at Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan's fourth-largest city that is connected by highway to Uzbekistan in the north. Esmatullah Ergashev, special representative of Uzbekistan, met with local Balkh province officials as well as officials from Afghanistan’s ministry of transport and aviation who were in the province to meet with the Uzbekistan officials.

According to Tolo News, Ergashev said that the Uzbek government had sent a 30-member technical team to help the Afghans reconstruct the airport and repair any technical damage to the equipment.

“We were urged to help in the resumption of the airport and repair the damaged equipment. Hence, we have brought 30 technical staff from Uzbekistan, and they are repairing the equipment and reconstructing the airport and soon the airport will become operational,” he said.

He added that Uzbekistan will try to help Afghanistan in different areas, especially in infrastructure.

“The delegation from the transport ministry which has come to Balkh held talks with Uzbekistan officials on airport reconstruction and the railway. Talks were also held on Afghanistan’s electricity bill debt to Uzbekistan, and we said when the banking system problems are resolved we will pay the bill and Uzbekistan should not cut the imported electricity,” said Qudratullah Hamza, Balkh's governor.

 “Uzbekistan's team will repair and reactivate all the equipment and every section of the airport. It will also train in Uzbekistan around 83 technical employees of the ministry who are deployed at Maulana airport,” Hasibullah Soroush, Afghanistan's deputy minister said.

Uzbekistan, which shares a 144-km border with Afghanistan, feels that enhanced connectivity would also open new doors to improve the security situation and deal with terrorism and extremism across the region. Uzbekistan - which along with Turkmenistan exports electricity to Afghanistan for which Kabul has no money to pay  - feels that any isolation of Afghanistan could lead to an economic collapse and more chaos across the region, according to former Indian diplomat and Central Asia expert Ashok Sajjanhar. 

Uzbekistan feels that enhanced connectivity would also open new doors to improve the security situation and deal with terrorism and extremism across the region, says Sajjanhar. Uzbekistan feels that any isolation of Afghanistan could lead to an economic collapse and more chaos across the region. 

(SAM)