A roundtable conference devoted to trade and economic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Afghanistan has ended at the office of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ACCI, in Kabul. The members of the Russian business delegation that arrived in Kabul on the 14th of May and the executives of leading Afghan companies took part in the meeting.

The meeting opened with greetings from the ACCI president Mohammad Qurban Haqjo. The head of the Russian delegation, the chairman of the Business Council on Cooperation with Afghanistan, Abubakar Arsamakov, on his part, welcomed the participants of the meeting.

The participants of the round table conference said that the Afghan business community had attached great importance to Russian-Afghan economic cooperation. “We welcome the establishment of a Business Council in Russia and believe that this move will help to establish trade and economic cooperation with the RF and promote it,” Mohammad Qurban Haqjo said. He also said that Afghanistan was ready to create a similar body as part of the ACCI.

The vice chairman of the ACCI, Khan Jan Alokzay spoke about traditions of Russian-Afghan economic cooperation and noted the contribution made by the Soviet Union to the development of Afghanistan. “We believe that the reconstruction of social and economic facilities built with the Soviet assistance, including the integrated home-building factory in Kabul, is advantageous,” said Khan Jan Alokzay. According to him, bilateral economic cooperation should not be restricted to the reconstruction of “old Soviet facilities”. “The situation in the country and the region has radically changed in the past 20 years. Consequently, there is a need to promote new trends in Russian-Afghan cooperation,” Alokzay emphasized.

A Russian delegation arrived in Kabul on the 14th of May to discuss new opportunities for promoting economic cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan. It included the executives of leading Russian companies and heads of public organizations, including the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the executives of banks, and construction, food, metallurgical and engineering companies and the members of the Federation Council and the representatives of mass media outlets.

“I believe that the visit will be a new starting point in promoting trade and economic relations between our countries,” the chairman of the Russian Business Council, Abubakar Arsamakov said.

According to Afghan businessmen and experts, the visit to Kabul of the Russian delegation has every reason to become historical since it is proved to be the most representative Russian delegation business community that has visited Afghanistan in the past years.

The Russian delegation will hold separate meetings with several ministers and heads of departments in the next few days. 

The Russian delegation is expected to sign several agreements following the discussions in Kabul.