Taliban and Turkish commerce ministers in a meeting on Thursday agreed to establish a joint working group on trade and investment, according to a statement from the Taliban-run Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Nooruddin Azizi reached the agreement during a meeting with Omer Bolat, Turkey’s trade minister, on the sidelines of the 5th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) trade ministers’ summit, the statement said.
The statement said both sides agreed that while trade potential between the two countries is substantial, current trade volumes remain limited and need to be expanded.
Azizi emphasized Afghanistan’s interest in attracting more Turkish investment, particularly in key sectors such as energy, mining, and agriculture. He also invited Bolat to visit Afghanistan to assess investment opportunities firsthand.
Taliban said that the Turkish minister expressed interest in boosting imports from Afghanistan, specifically in products such as cotton, talc stone, and coal, and discussed facilitating transit routes to ease Afghan exports.
The two sides agreed in principle to hold a first meeting of the committee in the near future, though no date was given.
As of Thursday, Turkey’s Ministry of Trade had not publicly commented on the meeting or the formation of the joint working group.
Turkey has maintained limited diplomatic engagement with the Taliban since they seized power in August 2021, focusing primarily on humanitarian and economic coordination.
