Speech of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund During Meeting with the PM of Kazakhstan
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
To the Honorable President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Accompanying Delegation,
Peace and blessings be upon you.
I sincerely pray to the Almighty Allah for your complete health and well-being.
I am pleased that we had the opportunity to meet at the ECO Summit, and that this platform enabled us to discuss key economic and trade issues between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan.
As you are well aware, the peoples of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan share religious, linguistic, ethnic, historical, and geographical commonalities. In addition to this, our two countries also have clear and evident common interests in the political, economic, social, and other spheres.
Particularly, since the historic positive transformation in Afghanistan nearly four years ago, which brought an end to prolonged instability, the opportunity has arisen to further strengthen the political relations between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomes the decision by Kazakhstan to remove the Islamic Emirate from the list of sanctioned groups that were previously prohibited from operating on its soil.
We view Kazakhstan as an important and reliable regional partner. I am grateful and pleased that a special envoy has been appointed for Afghanistan.
I would now like to briefly and sequentially highlight a number of key points that can further strengthen the relationship between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan and help address certain mutual areas of interest more effectively:
1. Kazakhstan’s support for Afghanistan within the international community and multilateral organizations is of significant importance. Your backing has meaningful impact, and we hope Kazakhstan will continue this support.
2. After many years, Afghanistan now has a strong and unified central government. This has opened avenues for collaboration across many sectors. Our foreign policy is economy-centered, and we hope this opportunity will be utilized for expanding economic and trade relations.
3. Afghanistan can serve as a vital transit route for Kazakhstan to access the Middle East and South Asia. Likewise, Kazakhstan can connect Afghanistan to Europe. We propose that Kazakhstan take advantage of existing opportunities in investment, trade, railway development, and transit cooperation.
4. The Kazakh side has shown interest in investing $500 million in the Torghundi–Herat railway line. In this regard, we have requested technical meetings from the Kazakh side. We hope that these meetings are convened soon to expedite the process, ultimately opening a new trade corridor between our two countries.
5. Afghanistan is ready to sign a quarantine and agricultural health agreement with Kazakhstan. The draft agreement has already been shared with the Kazakh side. We hope the necessary final steps will be taken on your end.
6. In order to raise bilateral trade volume to $3 billion, it is essential to facilitate visa issuance and strengthen banking ties. Afghanistan has already provided facilitation for Kazakhstan’s Freedom Bank and Zaman Bank to open accounts in Afghan banks.
We would also like Afghan banks to be allowed to open accounts in these Kazakh banks. Afghanistan has completed its part in this regard and now awaits a positive response from the Kazakh side. This will allow Afghan and Kazakh traders to benefit from enhanced banking services and financial facilities. All necessary documentation has been shared with Kazakhstan by Da Afghanistan Bank.
7. To further strengthen trade relations, Afghanistan has begun establishing an operational company to handle imports and exports via railways. The company will be introduced to Kazakhstan soon. This initiative will accelerate railway-based trade among regional countries.
8. A draft agreement on international transportation and transit between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan has been prepared and shared with relevant Kazakh authorities. We hope the final steps in this process will be completed soon. The implementation of this agreement will provide greater trade facilitation and remove delays and obstacles in logistics. Additionally, Afghanistan has initiated serious work on reducing fees on transit goods passing through its territory.
9. Afghanistan is committed to regional cooperation in the industrial, commercial, and transport sectors. A draft agreement on the establishment of a quadrilateral coordination center — involving Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan — has been prepared and shared with Kazakhstan. We hope that further steps will be taken in this regard.
10. Now that investment opportunities have emerged across various sectors in Afghanistan, we invite you to invest in areas where you have expertise and interest.
11. For the purpose of promoting bilateral trade, it would be beneficial to establish sales centers for Afghan and Kazakh products in major cities of both countries. This proposal has already been shared, and we await the start of its practical implementation.
In conclusion, I once again urge that we work jointly on the aforementioned matters. Both sides should seek appropriate solutions based on each other’s concerns and roadmaps, so that the trade volume between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan can be increased to $3 billion and economic and commercial relations further strengthened.
Wassalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh