HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Trade contracts worth $20 million have been signed between traders from western Herat province and Kazakhstan, the provincial Information and Culture Department said.
According to a statement issued by the department, the contracts were signed in the presence of Yerkin Tukumov, Kazakhstan’s special representative for Afghanistan, his delegation, Herat governor Sheikh Maulana Islamjar and a number of traders from both sides.
The statement quoted Yunus Qazizada, head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment, as saying Kazakhstan is one of Afghanistan’s important trading partners and that a significant portion of the wheat and flour needed in Afghanistan is imported from the country.
He said Afghanistan’s exports to Kazakhstan remain low and do not meet the expectations of Afghan traders. During talks with the Kazakh delegation, he said, the two sides discussed increasing trade volumes and providing necessary facilities for Afghan traders.
Herat governor Sheikh Maulana Islamjar appreciated trade relations with Kazakhstan and stressed the need to use Herat’s production and commercial potential to increase exports of the province’s agricultural and manufactured products to Central Asian countries.
Members of the Kazakh delegation described Herat as having a favorable commercial and economic location and said Kazakhstan would cooperate with Afghanistan to increase trade and investment in several sectors, according to the statement.
The statement added that several joint meetings between the Kazakh delegation, Herat traders and industrialists had been held in recent days. The Kazakhstan-Herat Commercial Complex was also inaugurated in the province.
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