Taliban says talks with Iranian delegation aim to boost trade to $10 billion
The Taliban-run Ministry of Industry and Commerce says acting minister Nooruddin Azizi met in Kabul with a delegation from Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, led by Mohsen Zangeneh, and the two sides discussed increasing trade volume to as much as $10 billion, a goal the ministry says will be pursued by focusing on expanding Afghanistan’s exports.
According to the ministry, the meeting was also attended by Alireza Bikdeli, Iran’s ambassador in Kabul, and Kamaluddin Toheed, head of the Afghanistan-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce. The ministry said talks centred on a range of joint industrial and economic programmes, including the establishment of a “special industrial park” in Afghanistan, the launch of a petroleum refinery and the expansion of cooperation through the port of Chabahar.
During the meeting, the Taliban-run ministry’s acting head spoke of Afghanistan’s “full readiness for industrial development” and said the ministry supports projects related to production, value-chain completion and the expansion of economic activity. He also described the growth of industry and the strengthening of domestic production as the ministry’s “main priority.”
On the other side, Iranian officials in the meeting stressed Tehran’s readiness to take part in industrial projects, transfer experience and broaden economic cooperation. The Taliban-run Ministry of Industry and Commerce described the talks as linked to regional programmes and joint production cooperation.
According to the published information, the delegation from Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, led by Mohsen Zangeneh, arrived in Kabul yesterday and is expected to hold talks with Taliban officials on expanding economic cooperation and increasing trade exchanges.
The visit comes as Iran is one of Afghanistan’s main trading partners and a significant share of Afghanistan’s imports are supplied through Iran. The Afghanistan-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce has also said the two countries have in recent years worked to raise the level of economic cooperation, and that the visit is expected to cover issues such as removing obstacles facing the private sector and reviewing joint economic projects.
