The Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce has announced that 25 cooperation agreements were signed between private-sector representatives of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan during the Afghanistan–Kazakhstan Joint Business Forum held in Kabul. According to the ministry, the agreements are aimed at expanding bilateral trade relations and facilitating import and export activities between the two countries.
Based on the information released, the agreements cover a wide range of areas of bilateral commerce. Key sectors include trade in spices and pharmaceutical products, the export and import of fresh and dried fruits and vegetables, as well as the exchange of essential commodities such as flour, wheat, cooking oil, and potatoes.
The two sides also reached agreements on strengthening banking cooperation and establishing mechanisms to facilitate financial transactions between traders and businesses in both countries, a move that could further enhance economic and commercial cooperation.
The agreements were signed during the visit of Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister, to Kabul. Leading a high-level delegation, Zhumangarin met with several Taliban officials, including Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Prime Minister; Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior; and Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Commerce.
Although Kazakhstan, like many countries around the world, has not formally recognized the Taliban administration, political and economic relations between the two sides have steadily expanded in recent years. During this period, senior officials from both Afghanistan and Kazakhstan have made multiple visits to Kabul and Astana to discuss and advance bilateral cooperation.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
