Uzbekistan new indd

participated in a number of projects to develop trans-
portation arteries in Afghanistan.
In spite of the above, Uzbek-Afghan economic 
relations remain at a low level, being confined mainly 
to small-scale trade that has a certain significance for 
Afghanistan (more precisely, for its northern prov-
inces), but which, as of yet, is of no great importance 
to Uzbekistan.
Uzbek-Afghan Trade
The volume of Uzbek-Afghan trade rose through-
out the period 2002-2010, with the exception of 
2005 when trade between the two countries dropped 
sharply largely due to difficulties in Uzbek- American 
relations. The volume of trade in 2011 was also some-
what lower than in 2010. According to data for 2011, 
Uzbek-Afghan trade accounts for under 3 percent of 
the foreign trade turnover of Uzbekistan and roughly 
6 percent of that of Afghanistan. This is far below its 
potential level (see Table 1 below).
The structure of Uzbek-Afghan trade (see Figure 
1) remained practically unchanged throughout the 
period 2002-2011. Uzbek deliveries to Afghanistan 
included fuel, electricity, and petrochemicals (60-62 
percent), ferrous metals and their products (20-24 
percent), food products consisting of flour, cereals, 
1 Co-founders of the web think-tank “Central Eurasia” (www.ceasia.ru), Tashkent. 

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Vladimir Paramonov and Alexey Strokov
164
fruits, and vegetables (11-13 percent), and services 
(about 3 percent). Uzbek exports go predominantly 
to the northern provinces of Afghanistan, constitut-
ing either international humanitarian aid or are paid 
for from funds provided to Afghanistan by internati-
nal financial institutions.
Table 1. Trade between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan 
over the Period 2002-2011, in US$ Million