Taliban says it held talks with Russian officials on expanding trade

The Taliban administration said that during a meeting between Nooruddin Azizi, acting minister of industry and commerce, and Nikita Korneenko, minister for international and regional cooperation in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, the two sides discussed expanding trade cooperation.

According to the Taliban administration’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the talks focused on developing economic relations, coordinating between traders from both sides, exporting Afghan goods to Chelyabinsk, importing Russian machinery and new technologies into Afghanistan, as well as banking exchanges.

The ministry said Azizi stressed expanding Afghanistan’s exports to Russia and stated that there was readiness to establish a centre for displaying Russian goods in Afghanistan, as well as a market for Afghan products in the region.

The official from Russia’s Chelyabinsk region also welcomed the expansion of trade with Afghanistan and invited a delegation including Taliban administration representatives and the private sector to visit the region to further coordinate between traders, according to the Taliban administration.

Chelyabinsk is considered one of Russia’s industrial regions and is known for machine production and heavy industries, a factor that has also led the recent talks to focus on importing equipment and technology from Russia to Afghanistan.