Astana, April 27 (EFE).- Kazakhstan on Saturday inaugurated its Trade House in the Afghan city of Herat, aiming to expand and diversify trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan following the removal of the Taliban movement from its list of terrorist organizations.
The opening of this facility took place in the context of the Kazakh-Afghan trade forum being held in Kabul, the Kazakh Presidential press service reported Saturday.
During the forum, the two Central Asian nations signed agreements for the supply of Kazakh sunflower oil, grain, and flour to Afghanistan, totaling over $12 million.
Afghanistan is the world’s largest buyer of Kazakh grain, having doubled its imports from $500 million to $1 billion over the past two years.
Now, authorities from both countries aim to increase bilateral trade to $3 billion annually through the diversification of goods.
At the forum’s opening, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin stated that Astana offers Kabul cooperation in the chemical and metallurgical industries, joint geoprospecting projects, extraction and processing of raw materials, and developments in information technology.
“Additionally, the Kazakh side is interested in supplying domestically produced vehicles with the future establishment of sales and service centers for their maintenance in Afghanistan,” he added.
Afghan companies also showed great interest in Kazakh motor oil supplies and hope to sign the first import agreement this year.
Astana has also proposed to Kabul to double the annual scholarship slots for Afghans wanting to study at Kazakh universities from 30 to 60.
The business forum in the Afghan capital is attended by 35 Kazakh companies.
This cooperation has been made possible because in December 2023, Kazakhstan removed the Taliban movement, which currently controls Afghanistan, from its list of terrorist organizations, thereby opening the doors for dialogue between the two Central Asian nations. EFE