Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, visited the Baku International Seaport in Azerbaijan and called on Azerbaijani officials to facilitate the export of Afghan goods through this route.

The Economic Office of the Prime Minister’s Office announced the formation of joint technical committees to develop trade and transit infrastructure via this port, assess existing facilities, explore transportation routes, and enable the smoother export of Afghan products.

Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, said: "During this visit, which included officials from the Baku International Seaport and the railway authority, they stated that, via this port located on the Lapis Lazuli Corridor, they are ready to export Afghanistan’s industrial goods, agricultural products, and minerals to Turkey and Europe. They also expressed readiness to transport Afghan commercial goods through Iran by rail to Russia."

Azerbaijani officials, in response, reaffirmed their willingness to facilitate the export of Afghan industrial, agricultural, and mineral goods to Turkey and Europe, as well as to Russia via Iran’s rail network.

Yesterday, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar also met with the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan in Azerbaijan, where they discussed key political, economic, trade, and commercial matters.

Baradar stated that Afghanistan could serve as a key transit route for Kazakhstan to access the Middle East and South Asia. He emphasized the need to ease visa issuance and provide banking services for Afghans.

Mir Shakir Yaqubi, an economic analyst, said: "Expanding economic and trade relations with Kazakhstan will reduce Afghanistan’s dependence on neighboring countries like Pakistan and Iran and allow its economy to operate more regionally and beyond."

Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister also announced that his country is ready to increase fruit imports from Afghanistan and facilitate Afghan exports via Kazakh territory.

He also expressed interest in investing in Afghanistan’s mining sector and revealed plans to launch the Torghundi–Herat railway project, with $500 million in investment, in the near future.

Trader Omid Haidari said: "We seek greater cooperation between the Islamic Emirate and Central Asian countries to sign bilateral trade, transit, and transport agreements, particularly to ease visa policies, improve export-import processes, and adjust customs tariffs. In addition to other markets, we could gain access to Central Asian markets, which are a strong alternative."

Kazakh officials had previously discussed expanding trade with Afghanistan to as much as $3 billion something experts believe could significantly boost bilateral trade volumes.