Kazakhstan is keen to maintain the established trade and economic, transport and logistics and energy ties with Afghanistan, Deputy Prime Minister also Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin noted in an address to a three-day Kazakh-Afghan Business Forum on August 3. The event took place in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on August 3-5.
According to Kazinform, Zhumangarin reiterated Kazakhstan’s stance on Afghanistan as an independent, neutral, united, peaceful, democratic and prosperous state.
“We are interested in maintaining the established trade and economic, transport and logistics and energy ties with Afghanistan,” the Kazakh Minister of Trade and Integration stressed.
In his words, trade the bilateral trade between the countries last year valued at 1 billion US dollars, almost doubling compared to 2021. 90 percent of two-way trade reportedly fell on Kazakhstan’s export, mainly of processed goods. Over the first six months of this year, the two-way trade between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan has reportedly amounted to over US$343 million in the past six months. Of this amount, a little bit over US$334 million fell on Kazakhstan’s export.
Kazakhstan, according to Zhumangarin, is expected to export US$500 million worth of goods to Afghanistan, including produce of its food, petrochemical, chemical, light, and machine-building industry, Kazinform reported on August 3.
Artur Akhmetov, head of Altyn Grain Group, an exporter of agricultural products, told reporters that his company had signed a contract with the Afghans to supply them with wheat worth $23 million, equivalent to 100,000 tons, per year.
The three-day Kazakh-Afghan Business Forum that took place in Astana on August 3-5 was reportedly attended by over 200 Afghani entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s TOLOnews reported on August 6 that the acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, said the Afghanistan-Kazakhstan trade exhibition achieved good results and contracts worth US$190 million have been signed between the private sectors of both countries in various areas.
“Kazakhstan agreed with us to facilitate our business … In the field of transportation, transit, trade facilities, and bilateral investment, we paid a lot of attention to banking issues…,” said the acting head of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
“In the Afghan-Kazakh exhibition, 350 traders displayed 420 products to the country. Fortunately, it was welcomed by the host country, and participants,” Abdul Salam Jawad Akhoundzada, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce, was quoted as saying.
