Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan sign trade deals worth over $156m

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) says commercial memorandums of understanding worth more than $156 million were signed during the Afghanistan–Kyrgyzstan Trade Connectivity Conference held in Kabul.

According to a statement from the ministry, the conference was attended by Afghanistan’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Nooruddin Azizi and Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Economy and Trade Bakyt Sydykov, along with private sector representatives from both countries.

The Kyrgyz delegation arrived in Kabul on Tuesday, and the Kyrgyz Trade House was inaugurated in the capital on Wednesday.

The MoCI said the opening of the trade house is expected to boost commercial exchanges between traders of the two countries.

The statement added that the Kyrgyz Trade House was formally inaugurated during the official visit of the Kyrgyz delegation to Afghanistan, in the presence of Azizi, Sydykov, and representatives and private sector members from both sides.

Azizi said the two countries complement each other, with Afghanistan holding a strategic position at the crossroads of South and West Asia, while Kyrgyzstan serves as a gateway to Central Asia and the markets of the Eurasian Economic Union.

He described the signing of a roadmap and memorandums of understanding on economic and trade cooperation as an operational framework for bilateral economic relations, and called the opening of the Kyrgyz Trade House in Afghanistan a bridge between the private sectors of the two countries.

Azizi also referred to the ministry’s decision to open an Afghan Trade House in Kyrgyzstan, saying the trade connectivity conference and business-to-business meetings were aimed at identifying opportunities and challenges and taking practical steps to address them.

Sydykov emphasized joint investment, transit, and bilateral trade, highlighting the strategic positions of both countries in the region.

According to the MoCI, business-to-business meetings between private sector representatives of the two countries resulted in the signing of commercial memorandums of understanding worth more than $156 million across various sectors.

The meetings covered sectors including gold, pharmaceuticals, footwear, telecommunications, mining and energy, logistics and transport, agriculture, construction, and banking. Two presentations on investment opportunities were also delivered by both sides during the conference.

sa