The Minister of Trade of Kazakhstan Bakht Sultanov visited Kabul over the weekend. This is the second such high-level meeting recently after the special representative of the President of Kazakhstan Ercan Kazikhan also called for a meeting with Taliban leaders. access.
Sultanov led a Kazakh trade and economic delegation to Afghanistan on December 25. According to diplomats, this visit shows Kazakhstan’s efforts to help Afghanistan avoid humanitarian disasters and large-scale immigration, which will affect wider regions including Europe.
The delegation included officials from various ministries and the national export operator QazTrade, as well as representatives from several Kazakhstan companies.
According to the website of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Belgium, during the visit, Sultanov held talks with representatives of his own Afghan government, including Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Salam Hanafi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Mu Taki, Minister of Trade and Industry Nuridin Aziz.
According to reports, Sultanov stated that Kazakhstan has consistently adhered to and will continue to adhere to the policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.
After the U.S. troop withdrawal in August last year, Afghanistan fell under the control of the Taliban, and Western embassies were evacuated from Kabul one after another. The United States has classified the Taliban as a terrorist organization for many years and has strictly controlled economic and financial relations, which has brought the country the risk of major humanitarian disasters.
According to the United Nations, nearly 23 million people—about 55% of the population—are facing extreme levels of hunger, and as winter approaches, nearly 9 million people are at risk of famine.
“We have always supported a peaceful, united, independent and prosperous Afghanistan, free of terrorism and drug-related crimes. The Afghan people have the right to determine their own future and seek lasting peace and development.”
According to reports, he reminded that, in accordance with the instructions of President Tokayev of Kazakhstan, the Kazakh government has provided 5,000 tons of flour for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
“Today, we brought 1.5 tons of cargo (medicine). In addition, approximately 155 tons of humanitarian food and medicine equivalent to US$1.9 million will arrive in Afghanistan soon,” he added.
Minister Sultanov also informed the representatives of the Afghan government that Kazakhstan fully supports and actively participates in the UN’s efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. According to him, the World Food Program recently purchased 20,000 tons of Kazakh flour.
“Our country, like other international partners, expressed the hope that the active phase of the conflict has ended, and the time has come for the country to rebuild after the conflict,” he added.
The delegation of Kazakhstan assured that Kazakhstan is interested in maintaining and expanding the scope of bilateral trade, both in terms of quantity and a range of commodities.
Kazakhstan is the main supplier of flour and grains to Afghanistan. Recently, the Afghan market consumes more than half of all Kazakh flour exports and more than 10% of grain exports.
Minister Sultanov drew attention to opportunities to expand the scope of cargo turnover. According to reports, the two sides pointed out that including these goods in the bilateral trade volume may benefit both Kazakhstan and Afghanistan and help increase the bilateral trade volume. At the same time, the representatives of Kazakhstan expressed their willingness to purchase more fruits and vegetables from Afghan suppliers.
Kazakhstan is also working hard to strengthen the trade balance between the two countries. One of the tools can be the industrial cooperation in the territory of the cross-border cooperation center created by Kazakhstan and Afghan companies, including the “Central Asia” International Industrial Cooperation Center.
During the visit, Minister Sultanov participated in the Kazakhstan-Arabic Business Forum. In Kazakhstan, 16 food production, furniture manufacturing and textile product companies participated.
After the B2B conference and business forum, a memorandum on the supply of pasta, flour and other products to Afghanistan was signed.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
