Kazakhstan and Afghanistan have signed a partnership roadmap aimed at boosting bilateral trade to a value of $3 billion. The agreement was inked by Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and Minister of Trade and Industry Nooriddin Azizi during bilateral business forum in Almaty on 22 October.
The roadmap outlines a broad range of cooperation areas, including trade, industry, banking, mining, humanitarian affairs, energy, transport, logistics, digitalization, tourism, and more.
Key initiatives include Kazakhstan’s involvement in Afghan railway projects like “Torghundi – Herat – Kandahar – Spin Boldak” and “Mazar-I-Sharif – Kharlachi”, expanding the range of goods in mutual trade between the two countries, developing bilateral cooperation in the chemical industry and increasing exports of Kazakh-made nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers, negotiations on the supply of new and used Kazakhstani cars with the subsequent localization of dealerships for their maintenance in Afghanistan, the possibility of building schools, etc.
According to Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan is interested in joining Afghanistan to international transport corridors.
“There is a railway corridor between our countries through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. We are interested in the transit of our export cargoes through the Trans-Afghan corridor. The markets of the Middle East, Southeast Asian countries, and the Indian Ocean are opening up for us through the seaports of Pakistan (Karachi, Gwadar),” he stressed.
To facilitate the seamless transit of Afghan goods to China through Kazakhstan, the Afghan side has been invited to establish a logistics hub at the Khorgos Gateway dry port. This initiative aims to streamline container and vehicle freight operations.
In the first half of 2024, transit road transport from Afghanistan through Kazakhstan witnessed an 8% increase, reaching over 5,000 tons.
Over 250 companies from Kazakhstan and Afghanistan participated in the business forum, showcasing the growing interest in bilateral trade and cooperation.
During the period from January to August 2024, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan reached $330.7 million. Exports from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan totaled $316.5 million, primarily comprising flour, sunflower oil, natural gas, and fertilizers. Imports from Afghanistan amounted to $14.1 million, with mineral waters, fruits, juices, and aluminum products as the main commodities.
Kazakhstan and Afghanistan are working on a supply route from China to Afghanistan through Kazakhstan
The Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan has announced that the country is working closely with Afghanistan to establish a trade route connecting China and Afghanistan via Kazakhstan.
During a bilateral meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and Minister of Trade and Industry Nooriddin Azizi, held in Almaty, officials discussed logistics challenges and opportunities for optimizing the route. A key focus was on reducing logistics costs by ensuring efficient wagon and container utilization.
Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) proposed two potential solutions:
- Round Trip via Karachi: Containers carrying goods from China would transit through Kazakhstan to Afghanistan, where they would be reloaded with Afghan goods for export to China via the port of Karachi.
- Kazakhstan-Afghanistan Round Trip: Railway trains would travel from China to Afghanistan, load Afghan goods, and return to Kazakhstan. After unloading the Afghan goods, the trains would be loaded with Kazakh products for export to China.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the possibility of creating a logistics hub for Afghan goods for transportation along the China–Kazakhstan–Afghanistan route. This would significantly reduce the cost of transportation logistics.
For his part, Serik Zhumangarin suggested that the Afghan side use the capacities of the Kazakh dry port in Xi’an, the Kazakh-Chinese logistics terminal in the port of Lianyungang, and in the future – the dry port of Urumqi, which is under construction.
“We can simplify and adjust logistics, but for a significant intensification of our bilateral relations, we need industrial cooperation projects,” he stressed.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed to organize an interregional Kazakh-Afghan forum, where the provinces of Afghanistan and the regions of Kazakhstan could discuss in detail and develop mutually beneficial cooperation projects. ///nCa, 22 October 2024