Sunday, 12 July 2026
Mr. Sayed Karim Hashemi, Chairman of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), together with the Chamber's leadership, met with a joint trade delegation from the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan at the ACCI main office.
The visiting delegation included Arsen Gamzatov, Head of Dagestan Export Center (Russia); Vladimir Alekseevich, Deputy Chairman of the Tyumen Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Russia); Alexander Andreyevich, Head of the Tyumen Trade House; Artem Valeryevich, Director of the Tyumen Trade House; Abdulnaser Abukravich, a construction materials trader; Sattar Dmitry, a Kazakh trader in tea and vegetable oil; Samekov Durkan, a Kazakh food products trader; and Azamat Sigdenov, a Kazakh grain trader.
Representing the ACCI leadership were Mr. Mujib Rahman Shirzad, Deputy Chairman for Strategic Relations; Mr. Abdul Nafi Barakzai, Deputy Chairman for Support of Domestic Production and Products; and Board Members Mr. Hamidullah Habibi, Mr. Najabat Haidari, Mr. Yahya Pashtoon, Mr. Sakhi Ahmad Nourzai, and Mr. Khalid Majid.
Welcoming the delegation, Mr. Hashemi highlighted Afghanistan's vast economic opportunities and investment potential, particularly its abundant mineral resources, including copper, iron, gold, chromite, precious stones, and significant reserves of rare earth elements. He invited Russian and Kazakh companies to invest not only in mineral extraction but also in establishing mineral processing plants and steel manufacturing facilities in Afghanistan.
The ACCI Chairman emphasized that expanding bilateral trade should be the first priority. He called for increasing trade volume, reducing trade barriers, facilitating business visas, organizing business-to-business (B2B) meetings, and strengthening direct cooperation between companies in the three countries.
Mr. Hashemi stated that Afghanistan is ready to expand exports of high-quality products including fresh and dried fruits, saffron, pine nuts, medicinal herbs, carpets, and precious stones to the Russian and Kazakh markets. He also expressed Afghanistan's interest in increasing imports of petroleum products, grains, vegetable oil, food products, industrial machinery, construction equipment, steel, chemical fertilizers, technology, and raw materials from Russia and Kazakhstan.
He further proposed the signing of cooperation agreements between the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment and the chambers of commerce of Russia, Dagestan, and Kazakhstan to promote regular collaboration in information exchange, capacity building, investment promotion, and the exchange of trade delegations.
During the meeting, Mr. Arsen Gamzatov and other Russian trade and investment representatives stated that the presentation delivered by the ACCI Chairman and the information provided about Afghanistan had significantly increased their interest in investing in the country.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Mr. Vladimir Alekseevich noted that more than one hundred Russian businessmen and investors have expressed interest in visiting Afghanistan to meet with Afghan entrepreneurs and explore opportunities for expanding large-scale commercial cooperation.
Mr. Alekseevich added that the delegation had closely studied Afghanistan's progress over the past five years. He remarked that the country's commercial growth and infrastructure development following years of conflict and crisis have attracted the attention of Russian investors, who are also interested in applying similar reconstruction experiences in conflict-affected regions of their own country.
The meeting reflected the strong commitment of Afghanistan, the Russian Federation, and Kazakhstan to strengthening trade and economic cooperation. Given the significant opportunities available, expanded collaboration between the three countries is expected to contribute to Afghanistan's sustainable economic development and long-term growth.
