Kazakhstan and Afghanistan signed a roadmap in Almaty, the main goal of which is to achieve mutual trade turnover between the countries up to $3 billion, Inbusiness.kz reports. Official representatives of the countries took part in the work of the business forum "Kazakhstan - Afghanistan", where they discussed the prospects for bilateral cooperation.
The forum participants noted that Kazakhstan is interested in increasing the export of grain and flour to Afghanistan, as well as in the import of Afghan fruits, vegetables and dried fruits.
Mutual trade between the countries for 8 months of 2024 amounted to $330.7 million, with the bulk of the volume coming from the export of Kazakh goods - $316.5 million, imports from Afghanistan amounted to $14.1 million.
"There is a railway corridor between our countries through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. We are interested in the transit of our export cargo through the Trans-Afghan Corridor. Through the seaports of Pakistan (Karachi, Gwadar), the markets of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean are opening up for us," emphasized Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin.
Vice Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan Yermek Taszhurekov noted that the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan in 2023 amounted to $567.5 million, of which exports were $547 million and imports were $20 million.
"Afghanistan is the most important trading partner for Kazakhstan, especially in the supply of agricultural products. Our main export products are flour, wheat and flax seeds. These products account for more than 80% of the share of exports from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan. In addition to flour exports, sunflower oil is exported. In turn, we import mineral and carbonated waters from Afghanistan with a share of 85%, as well as grapes, fresh and dried fruits," Yermek Taszhurekov emphasized.
According to Yermek Taszhurekov, about 2 million tons of wheat and flour in grain equivalent are exported to Afghanistan annually, which has been declining in recent years. In 2023, wheat exports decreased by 53% and amounted to 448 thousand tons compared to the level of 2022 (685 thousand tons). For 8 months of 2024, wheat exports amounted to 69 thousand tons, which is 5 times less than the level of the same period in 2023 (330 thousand tons). In 2023, compared to 2022, flour exports decreased by 100 thousand tons and amounted to 1,271 thousand tons (1,357 thousand tons). According to the vice minister, the turnover of agricultural products between the countries can be increased to $ 1 billion.
In turn, the Minister of Trade and Industry of Afghanistan Nuriddin Azizi also expressed interest in expanding cooperation. According to him, Afghanistan sees great prospects for cooperation in the chemical and food industries.
On the same day, Serik Zhumangarin and Nuriddin Azizi signed a roadmap to achieve mutual trade turnover of up to $3 billion. The document provides for the expansion of cooperation in trade and industry, energy, transport, digitalization and other sectors. In particular, Kazakhstan plans to participate in the construction of railways in Afghanistan, such as "Turgundi - Herat - Kandahar - Spin Boldak" and "Mazar-i-Sharif - Harlachi".
During the forum, the supplies of Kazakhstani cars with the localization of service centers in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan's participation in Afghan mining projects, as well as the possibility of building schools and other social facilities were also discussed.
It should be noted that the dialogue platform brought together representatives of more than 250 companies from Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. Following the forum, trade agreements worth over $50 million are expected to be signed.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
October 23, 2024