The acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has led a delegation to Turkmenistan following an official invitation of the foreign minister of that country.

The acting minister of mines and petroleum and officials from Afghanistan Railway Authority and De Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) are also included in the delegation.

According to the deputy spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, the delegation will discuss diplomatic, business and economic relations and seek to attract investment to Afghanistan.

“They will discuss bilateral political and economic issues during their visit to Turkmenistan. They will also talk about some joint projects, facilities for businesspeople and investment. This visit will benefit both countries,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate.

Political and economic analysts believe that such visits will benefit the Islamic Emirate’s engagement with other countries.

“Many visits have been conducted to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other central Asian countries so that Afghanistan can achieve its goal of becoming a connecting country,” said Abdul Haq Hemad a political analyst.

“Our visits to every country are important, but due to the lack of a national council in the country, not all visits bring hopes for people,” said Nasir Shafaq, a university lecturer.

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) also considers the meeting beneficial in strengthening bilateral relations and insists that the issue of Afghan businesspeople’s Turkmenistan visas be focused on during the talks.

“Turkmenistan is an important country for Afghanistan both for trade and transit. Unfortunately, such visits have been less in number,” said Mirwais Hotak, head of the Executive Board of the ACCI.

Earlier, the acting foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate travelled to Iran to discuss bilateral political and business relations.