ASTANA — Kazakhstan and Afghanistan reached an agreement worth over $ 12 million on the supply of sunflower oil, cereal products, and flour at the Kazakh-Afghan business forum in Kabul, the Prime Minister’s press service reported on April 26.
Photo credit: primeminister.kz
Alongside the forum, 35 Kazakh companies presented their products and services at a thematic exhibition during the delegation’s official visit to Afghanistan.
Afghan companies expressed interest in motor oil, planning to sign the first contract with Kazakh suppliers.
Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin recalled the task of increasing bilateral trade turnover to $3 billion, which was set during the Afghan delegation’s last visit to Kazakhstan.
He proposed to consider interaction in the chemical industry, mining and metallurgy, joint projects in geological exploration and mineral processing in Afghanistan, and advancements in IT technologies.
Zhumangarin expressed Kazakhstan’s interest in the supply of domestically produced cars with the subsequent localization of dealership centers to service them in Afghanistan.
Touching on cooperation in higher education and science, he suggested doubling the annual grants for Afghan citizens to study at Kazakh universities from 30 to 60. He invited 30 children from Afghanistan to spend ten days of rest in Kazakh summer camps.
Kazakhstan’s Trade House has officially begun work in the city of Herat. This will also contribute to the progress of Kazakh-Afghan trade and economic relations.
Representatives of Kazakhstan’s National Information Technologies demonstrated the capabilities and economic effect of introducing digital solutions such as Data Lake, Smart Bridge, and Gov.kz.
They expressed their willingness to share experiences and best practices with Afghan partners in digitizing public services and enhancing internet connectivity, particularly in schools.
As part of commercial cooperation between the Kazakhtelecom and Afghantelecom companies, the Kazakh delegation discussed the possibilities of expanding Internet traffic to Afghanistan from 60 to 100 gigabits per second.
Currently, Kazakhstan ranks 28th in the United Nations Global E-Government Development Index for the development of e-government, and eighth in the online services sub-category. Around 94% of government services in the country are automated and transferred to electronic format. Exports of IT products and services surged fivefold in 2023, reaching $500 million.
