TASHKENT: In a new customs-free zone on the dusty Uzbek-Afghan border, Taliban representative Sayed Zaher Shah is pleased with his country’s rapidly growing trade links in the region.
“We have big plans for Central Asia,” Zaher Shah said in an interview at the complex — a symbol of cooperation between ex-Soviet Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Four years since the Taliban takeover, economic cooperation is the overriding concern among the five Central Asian states, which all fear the spread of religious extremism.
“The policy of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban govt) is oriented towards an open economy. We have good relations with all our neighbours,” Zaher Shah said at the Airitom zone near Termez, in southern Uzbekistan.
Airitom, which opened last year, hosts around 300 businesses, restaurants, a library, conference halls, a Hilton hotel and a state-of-the-art medical centre.
There is no value-added tax or customs duties charged on transactions in the zone.
To reach it, Afghans need to cross the “Friendship Bridge”, which was used by Soviet troops retreating from Afghanistan in 1989 as well as Afghan soldiers fleeing the lightning Taliban advance in 2021.
Abdul Qayom Karimi, 73, said he was receiving medical treatment at Airitom that he could not get in his Afghan home city of Mazar-i-Sharif, around 100 kilometres away.
“My nephew knew about this place and spoke highly of it so I wanted to come here for a general checkup. The doctors here are very advanced,” he said.
Gul Ahmad Amini, a man in his 60s, said he had come with his family after hearing about the centre.
“We are going to buy some things and then we want to go to the clinic to do a health check,” he said.
Inspiring quotes, high security
Sanjar Sodikov, an Uzbek official at Airitom, said over 1,000 Uzbeks and up to 2,000 Afghans visit the centre every day.
Afghan nationals can travel visa-free for up to 15 days to Uzbekistan.
Despite the openness, there are still security concerns.
Border guards carry out stringent checks at the entrance of Airitom and barbed wire tops the wall around it.
Police and plain clothes Uzbek security agents patrolled the area, on alert because of the visiting journalists.
The airconditioned space offers relief from the heat and dust for Afghans.
Access to sea
Landlocked Central Asia is trying to regain its historic role as an important trading route.
Access to the sea, heading south through Afghanistan, is vital since the route north through Russia is hampered by sanctions.
Central Asian countries are launching major infrastructure projects, such as railways, to boost ties with the Taliban.
Afghanistan, which according to the UN is in the middle of a humanitarian crisis, stands to gain greater energy and food security.
Central Asia’s rapprochement with Kabul began long before Russia became the first country last month to recognise the Taliban government.
Kazakhstan took the Taliban off a list of terrorist organisations last year, Uzbekistan is boosting diplomatic ties and Kyrgyzstan has urged the West to recognise the Taliban.
Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025
