DUSHANBE, March 28, 2013, Asia-Plus — On Wednesday March 27, Tajik Minister of Finance, Safarali Najmiddinov, met here with an Afghan delegation, led by Omar Zakhilwal, the Finance Minister of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) Secretariat reports the sides discussed issues related to state and prospects of further expansion of economic cooperation between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Najmiddinov and Zakhilwal, in particular, exchanged views on bilateral cooperation between their countries in sectors like transportation ad energy as well as expansion of humanitarian cooperation.
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Project (CASA 1000) and an agreement on construction of a new railway link connecting Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran were also among major topics of the meeting.
Yesterday, visiting Afghan delegation also met with Tajik Minister of Energy and Industries, Gul Sherali. The sides reportedly discussed issues related to implementation of the CASA-1000 Project, construction of 500kV power transmission line from Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Iran and 500kV power transmission line connecting Tajikistan and Turkmenistan through Afghanistan.
They also discussed projects aimed at constructing interstate gas pipelines, the source said.
The Ministry of Finance of Afghanistan has been responsible for the management and execution of budget, collection of taxes, organization and control of public expenditures and payments to the government and finally the management of Custom Affairs.
Omar Zakhilwal, 45, is an Afghan politician, serving as the Finance Minister and Chief Economic Advisor to the President Hamid Karzai. He is also the president of the Afghanistan Cricket Board.
In 1984, at the age of 17, Zakhilwal along with his family fled his country among the Afghan refugees and settled in Peshawar, Pakistan. In 1991, he along with the family immigrated to Canada. Zakhilwal obtained his Bachelor”s degree in economics at the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. He then moved to Kingston, Ontario, where he earned a Master”s degree in economics at Queen”s University. Soon after that he found a job with Statistics Canada in Ottawa, where he completed a doctorate in economics at Carleton University. He graduated in 2001.
