Speech of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund at the Meeting with the Deputy PM of Kazakhstan
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Distinguished participants of the meeting,
Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.
First of all, I would like to warmly welcome the Deputy PM of Kazakhstan and the accompanying delegation. I sincerely thank you for visiting Afghanistan to discuss important and mutually beneficial economic and trade matters between our two countries. You are most welcome, and may Allah bless your visit.
As you are well aware, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan share historical, religious, cultural, linguistic, and geographical ties. These commonalities have not only created a natural closeness between our peoples but have also provided us with an opportunity to further strengthen and organize our political, economic, and commercial relations.
Afghanistan and Kazakhstan play important roles in promoting regional economic stability and connectivity. We believe that economic cooperation is the most effective means of achieving peace, stability, and sustainable development. Supporting regional projects and strengthening economic partnerships benefit not only our two countries but the entire region.
Kazakhstan is one of Afghanistan’s key trading partners. We hope that the volume of trade between our two countries will increase to the targeted level in the near future. Afghanistan is an important market for Kazakhstan’s wheat, flour, food products, and industrial goods. In return, Afghanistan can export dried and fresh fruits, saffron, medicinal plants, precious and semi-precious stones, carpets, and other products to Kazakh markets.
The private sector is the primary driving force behind the economic relations of our two countries. Increasing trade exhibitions, joint economic forums, cooperation between chambers of commerce, and reciprocal visits by businesspeople can create new economic opportunities and increase investment.
Afghanistan possesses significant natural resource potential. We invite the Government of Kazakhstan and its private sector to invest in mining and mineral processing, transportation, telecommunications, energy production, construction materials manufacturing, agro-industries, oil and gas, and infrastructure projects. The Islamic Emirate has established a suitable and secure environment for attracting foreign investment.
The draft Roadmap for Cooperation between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan has already been signed. Its implementation is expected to bring significant positive changes in agriculture, mining, transportation, railways, industry, and other economic sectors. Furthermore, it is anticipated that this roadmap will further strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries and increase bilateral trade volume to three billion US dollars.
The roadmap includes increasing agricultural exports, strengthening banking relations, agreements related to agriculture and livestock, technical cooperation in financial markets, and expanding trade transactions using national currencies.
Afghanistan also places special emphasis on expanding transport and logistics cooperation. For this purpose, the draft International Road Transport Agreement, the proposal for a joint center involving Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, and the request for establishing a logistics center for Afghan imports at the Khorgos Port have all been included in the roadmap and shared with your side.
In addition, Afghanistan seeks practical cooperation with Kazakhstan in the fields of higher education, telecommunications, information technology, and mining, and has shared specific proposals in these areas as well.
Afghanistan is committed to building strong and positive economic relations with regional countries, particularly Kazakhstan. Based on this principle, we have completed and shared all commitments and roadmap-related matters that were our responsibility. We request that the issues already shared be finalized on your side as soon as possible so that trade between our two countries can reach the targeted level.
Finally, for the effective implementation, coordination, and advancement of the roadmap, we request that the technical teams of both sides hold regular, result-oriented, and technical meetings.
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you all.