Afghanistan seeks to boost trade with Central Asia to $10bn

KABUL: Afghanistan aims to increase trade with Central Asian countries to $10 billion within the next three or four years, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Sunday.

Trade with Central Asian countries to Afghanistan’s north came to about $2.7 billion in 2025, itself a significant increase over previous years, Muttaqi said.

He stated Afghanistan’s new trade goal with its neighbours at a “constructive dialogue” meeting in Kabul with representatives from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

The meeting focused on political, economic and security issues, regional cooperation, trade and the expansion of transit routes.

Muttaqi said Afghanistan is seeking to use “its geoeconomic position” to link Central Asia with South and West Asia.

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Among the main projects is the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline, a major project between Herat in Afghanistan’s west and Turkmenistan, of which about 25 kilometres (15 miles) have been completed so far on the Afghan side.

The Taliban government is trying to trade with the world, despite international sanctions on its banking sector that make investors wary.

Russia remains the only state to have officially recognised the Taliban authorities, who returned to power in 2021, although countries including Turkey, China, India and the United Arab Emirates have embassies in Afghanistan.

Landlocked Central Asia is trying to regain its historic role as an important trading route. Access to the sea, heading south through Afghanistan, is vital because the route north through Russia is hampered by sanctions.

It shares a 2,329-kilometre border with Tajikistan, which has been critical of the Taliban government in the past because of sometimes deadly cross-border incidents.

Muttaqi acknowledged that “certain issues such as the threat posed by the Islamic State group, drug trafficking, and illegal migration are among our shared concerns” but said “there are no longer any security problems along our common borders”.