Taliban Official Calls Russia Visit Fruitful as Economic Agreements Signed
KABUL – Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of the Taliban administration, returned to Kabul after a four-day visit to Tatarstan, Russia. He described the visit as productive, citing significant outcomes in trade and investment discussions.
A statement from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office said that Baradar attended the 16th International Economic Forum in Kazan. During the visit, he held meetings with the President of Tatarstan, the President of Mordovia, and two Deputy Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation. Discussions focused on economic cooperation, Russian investment in Afghanistan, and regional transit initiatives.
During the visit, the Afghanistan–Russia Business Forum was launched. As part of this engagement, five key agreements were signed, aimed at enhancing bilateral trade, transportation, transit routes, and cooperation between private sector actors from both countries.
Accompanying Baradar on the trip, Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, stated that talks addressed existing barriers to Afghan exports to Russia. He noted that both sides agreed to resolve trade and transit challenges and to conduct future trade in national currencies.
Azizi also highlighted that Russian companies expressed interest in investing in Afghanistan’s mining sector, particularly in oil and gas extraction. He mentioned Russia’s commitment to support the Afghan–Trans Rail Project as part of regional connectivity efforts.
In recent months, political and economic relations between Afghanistan and Russia have shown signs of improvement. In a notable development, Russia’s Supreme Court removed the Taliban from its list of designated terrorist organizations. Several Russian officials have also visited Afghanistan as part of growing bilateral engagement.
