Uzbek president says bridge with northern Afghanistan to open soon

Uzbek president says bridge with northern Afghanistan to open soon

Russian news agency Interfax
December 6

zbekistan will soon open the Druzhba (Friendship) Bridge near Termez on the Uzbek-Afghan border, President Islam Karimov said at a parliament session in Tashkent on Thursday [6 December].
Everything is ready for the opening of the bridge, the president said. The specialists who have built the bridge remain at the construction site and say that the bridge is in good condition and "can be opened to traffic very soon", he noted.
Karimov said it is necessary to provide for security and stability in border areas of Uzbekistan, including Termez. "We must be guaranteed from acts of sabotage," he said.
The bridge opening on the Uzbek-Afghan border "is not only a humanitarian event but also an important political act", Karimov said. "This is a move of Uzbekistan in establishing neighbourly contacts with Afghanistan and its people, and the opening of a route for stable humanitarian supplies to that country."