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constraints and opportunities for Uzbek-Afghan Economic 
relations
Vladimir Paramonov and Alexey Strokov
1
 (2013)
In order to normalize the situation in Afghanistan 
and ensure long-term stability, coordinated interna-
tional action is needed in Afghanistan to restore the 
following: (1) the transportation network; (2) indus-
trial facilities; and (3) agriculture. This requires mobi-
lizing the economic potential, above all, of the coun-
tries neighboring Afghanistan, including Uzbekistan. 
It is precisely Uzbekistan that—given competent co-
ordination of international assistance—could play a 
decisive role in rehabilitating the northern provinces 
of Afghanistan, which are home to over two million 
ethnic Uzbeks (about 7 percent of the total popula-
tion of Afghanistan) and formerly contained at least 
two-thirds of the country’s industrial facilities.