Senior Taliban and Kazakh officials on Saturday pledged to deepen economic cooperation, with the Taliban pressing for faster implementation of a roadmap aimed at significantly expanding trade and investment between the two sides.
The discussions took place in Kabul between Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy chief minister for economic affairs, and Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister and minister of national economy, who is leading a high-level delegation visiting Afghanistan.
According to a statement from Baradar’s office, the two sides discussed trade, transit and broader economic cooperation, as well as plans to strengthen regional connectivity.
Baradar said the economic cooperation roadmap should be finalized and implemented as soon as possible, arguing that it could increase annual trade between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan to $3 billion.
He described Kazakhstan as one of Afghanistan’s most important trading partners in Central Asia and called for expanded cooperation in agriculture, mining, transportation, railways, industry, banking and financial markets.
Baradar also highlighted proposals to increase Afghan agricultural exports, improve logistics cooperation, facilitate travel for traders and expand the use of local currencies in bilateral trade.
Among the initiatives discussed was the creation of a joint trade and logistics mechanism involving Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, as well as a logistics center for Afghan imports at Khorgos, the major dry port and trade hub on the Kazakhstan-China border.
He emphasized the role of the private sector in driving economic growth and called for more trade exhibitions, business forums and cooperation between the chambers of commerce of the two countries.
According to the statement, Zhumangarin said Kazakhstan places “special importance” on “relations with Afghanistan” and described his visit as part of a broader effort to strengthen economic engagement.
He said stability in Afghanistan was important for the wider region and reiterated Kazakhstan’s interest in investing in various sectors of the Afghan economy.
According to the Taliban statement, Zhumangarin also expressed Kazakhstan’s willingness to cooperate in areas including water management and health care, particularly the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.
He said plans are under discussion to establish a scientific water-management center at Kabul University and provide training opportunities for Afghan specialists.
The meeting came on the same day as Taliban and Kazakh officials opened the Afghan-Kazakh Trade Forum in Kabul, a three-day event bringing together government officials and business leaders from both sides. Taliban officials said bilateral trade has nearly doubled since 2022 and increased by roughly 41 percent over the past year.
The growing engagement reflects Kazakhstan’s emergence as one of the Taliban’s most important economic partners in Central Asia.
The talks also come as Afghanistan faces mounting challenges in accessing traditional maritime trade routes.
The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment has said that disruptions affecting transit corridors through Karachi, Jebel Ali and Bandar Abbas have forced Afghan traders to rely increasingly on overland routes through Central Asia.
