Karachi And Khorgos: Kazakhstan and Afghanistan Seeking Further Cooperation

On October 20, an exhibition of Afghan goods was held in the Atakent Exhibition Center. On October 22, business representatives and officials from both countries gathered at the Kazakhstan Hotel for a forum. Kazakhstan and Afghanistan seem to be exploring new inroads with each other.

To The Sea

Afghan authorities have explicitly declared their readiness to tap their advantageous position, as was also heard at the forum in Almaty. 

We intend to return Afghanistan to its role as an important transit state. Transit can become a vital bridge between states. We need to focus more on north-south cooperation, said Afghan Minister of Industry and Trade Nuruddin Azizi.

Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin also spoke about the favorable logistic position of both countries, citing the following: in the first six months of 2024, the transit flow of automobile cargo transportation from Afghanistan through Kazakhstan amounted to 5,000 tons, last year – 10 thousand. 

The Afghan side was offered to use the Khorgos Gateway dry port to build a logistics hub in order to ensure unimpeded transit of Afghan goods to China through the territory of Kazakhstan,the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Zhumangarin recalled plans to build a railway with our country's support regarding routes from Kazakhstan through Afghanistan.

There is a railway corridor between our countries through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. We are interested in the transit of our export cargo through the Trans-Afghan Corridor. Through the sea ports of Pakistan - Karachi, Gwadar - the markets of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean are opening up for us, Zhumangarin said.

According to Zhumangarin, pilot road shipments from Kazakhstan through Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to Pakistani ports have already been transported. 

As the Afghan minister noted, Afghanistan needs to develop transport infrastructure for full cooperation in the transport sector. Afghan authorities see Kazakhstan as a means to facilitate such development.

More Than Logistics

The mining industry was another topic. Afghanistan indeed has resources of interest: gold, zinc, copper, marble, and lithium.

Instability was the reason as to why no one attempted to explore the lithium deposits. However, Deputy Minister of Mining and Oil Sheikh Zia Ulrahman Alariobi claimed:

The mining sector in Afghanistan is now in the best conditions: security is ensured, corruption is eradicated.

As Serik Zhumangarin said, Kazakhstan is interested in investing in this industry, naming potential companies: ERG Exploration, Kazakhmys Barlau, and Kazatomprom. Zhumangarin stated they have modern technologies for the extraction of solid minerals. 

We are ready to share our expertise, qualifications and send geological exploration companies to Afghanistan to create a sustainable mining and metallurgical industry in Afghanistan,  Zhumangarin believes.

Afghan representatives invited both mining and oil companies. The oil companies are expected to extract raw materials and set up their processing. 

Afghanistan has the potential to become an industrial country, Minister Azizi said.

Agriculture

Afghanistan is a predominantly agricultural country, and the trade turnover is confirmation. In 2023, the turnover between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan amounted to 567.5 million dollars. 547 million are exports from Kazakhstan. The bulk of these exports are agricultural products. However, judging by the data cited by Vice Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Taszhurekov, the structure of these exports has changed noticeably in the last couple of years.

According to the data provided by the vice minister, if previously wheat, flour, and flax seeds accounted for 80% of all exports from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan, then over the past couple of years, the volume of these exports has noticeably decreased. 

In 2023, wheat exports decreased by 53% and amounted to 448 thousand tons compared to the 2022 level of 685 thousand tons. Over the eight months of 2024, wheat exports amounted to 69 thousand tons, which is five times less than the level of the same period in 2023 - 330 thousand tons. In 2023, compared to 2022, flour exports decreased by 100 thousand tons and amounted to 1.2 million tons, Taszhurekov said.

When an Orda journalist asked what caused this decrease, the vice minister replied that it was primarily due to increased competition. Afghanistan, with a population of 40 million people, is of interest to many suppliers. However, according to the minister, it remains a priority market for Kazakhstan, and our country plans to increase grain exports again.

They even plan to use the Beineu grain terminal in the Mangystau region, located near Turkmenistan's border, for this purpose. The Taliban's exclusion from the list of terrorist organizations will undoubtedly foster such interaction.

Meanwhile, according to Taszhurekov, other products manufactured in Kazakhstan are also sent to Afghanistan. For example, vegetable oil exports are actively growing, and there is also great interest in Kazakhstani fertilizers.

The first deliveries have already begun.

We are ready to purchase citrus fruits, dried fruits, pomegranate juice, spices, and raw cotton from Afghanistan,  said Taszhurekov.

Serik Zhumangarin and Nuruddin Azizi signed a roadmap to increase trade turnover sixfold to three billion dollars. This roadmap outlines a broader range of goods that Kazakhstan and Afghanistan are ready to trade with each other. 

Nonetheless, several barriers hindering the increase of trade turnover remain.

Nuruddin Azizi spoke about simplifying customs processes. Both sides also mentioned problems with banking operations. As the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Afghanistan, Al-Haj Khairudin, explained to an Orda journalist, Kazakh and Afghan businesses now conduct banking operations through third countries.

Original Author: Igorl Ulitin