India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has confirmed the signing of a $100 million Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between an Indian pharmaceutical company and its Afghan counterpart, reports Ariananews.af.
The agreement—reached during bilateral talks involving representatives of Afghanistan’s interim administration—aims to establish local production of essential medicines in Afghanistan.
Per the ministry’s official statement dated December 3, 2025, the project will roll out in two phases. Initially, the Indian firm will export finished pharmaceutical products to Afghanistan, targeting up to 30% of the country’s current import demand. Priority categories include antibiotics, analgesics, and medications for diabetes, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases.
In the second phase (2026–2027), the company plans to open a production facility in northern Afghanistan—likely in Hairaton or Mazar-i-Sharif—with GMP-compliant manufacturing lines for locally branded drugs. Investments will cover not only equipment but also Afghan staff training, technical support, and quality assurance systems.
The initiative is bolstered by the newly reopened Termez–Hairaton transport corridor and Uzbekistan’s support for logistics and warehousing infrastructure. Direct cargo transit time from Central Asia to northern Afghanistan has dropped from 24 hours to just 3–4 hours.
The MoU aligns with India’s expanded Neighbourhood First policy, emphasizing sustainable regional development through technology transfer and job creation. By 2028, local production is projected to cut Afghanistan’s reliance on third-country drug imports by 40–50%, while strengthening India’s pharmaceutical footprint in Central and South Asia.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
3 декабря 2025 года