Taliban Acting Foreign Minister Seeks Expanded Economic Ties With Russia

The acting foreign minister of the Taliban administration says he discussed expanding economic, trade, transit and energy cooperation during a meeting with Russian officials, and called for turning the “political understanding” between the two sides into a practical economic partnership.

According to him, the aim of these consultations is to move existing relations beyond the political level and achieve more tangible results in the areas of economics and trade.

This comes as, in the absence of a clear and assessable roadmap for such talks — including commitments, timelines and an implementation mechanism — the immediate impact on improving livelihoods and people’s access to job opportunities and economic services remains unclear.

Russia is considered one of the influential countries in the region, and Kabul’s economic talks with Moscow are usually centred on trade, transit routes and energy cooperation; however, details of any possible agreements have not been announced.