Business
Iran launches trade routes through Afghanistan for Central Asia
Two new key trade corridors between Iran and Central Asian countries, through Afghanistan, have been launched and are expected to considerably boost trade activities in the region.
According to Ruhollah Latifi, spokesman for the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the two corridors are the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran (KTAI) route and the Iran-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan corridor.
He told Tehran Times that the aim of the corridors is to bolster trade via Iranian borders.
According to IRICA, Iran sent two shipments of goods from Shahid Rajaei Port in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas to Uzbekistan via the newly established Iran-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan corridor a few weeks ago. This was a pilot operation to assess the route and proved successful.
According to IRICA Director of Transit Bureau Mostafa Ayati, the launch of the KTAI route in late July was also successful.
Ayati said as a short and low-cost route to Central Asian countries under the TIR Convention, the development of transit corridors through Afghanistan is supported by both international bodies and the Iranian government.
He said all stakeholders were determined to develop this sector.
“The pilot opening of this corridor indicates that Afghanistan is seriously determined to develop transit in its territory and connect Central Asian countries to the southern waters, including the ports along the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman (Chabahar),” he noted.
Tehran Times reported that on July 26, Iran sent two truckloads of goods from Shahid Rajaei Port to Kyrgyzstan through the KTAI corridor for the first time.
The corridor was launched by IRICA in collaboration with the International Road Transport Union (IRU), and Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) under the framework of the TIR Convention.
The Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) is a multilateral treaty that was concluded in Geneva on 14 November 1975 to simplify and harmonize the administrative formalities of international road transport.
A third corridor, India-Iran-Afghanistan route, is another critical route for trade through Iran between India and Afghanistan. This route is already up and running. Recently the seventh shipment of wheat from India for Afghanistan arrived at Chabahar Port.
Business
Afghanistan, Belarus discuss expanding industrial and trade cooperation
Particular attention was given to companies producing tractors, industrial machinery, and equipment and vehicles used in the mining sector.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, met with Belarus’ Minister of Industry during an official visit to the country.
The two sides discussed the establishment of manufacturing plants in Afghanistan, the regular organization of the Afghanistan-Belarus Business Forum, and follow-up on issues raised through the countries’ economic commission.
Belarusian officials expressed appreciation for Afghanistan’s participation in the country’s international industrial exhibition and voiced interest in expanding the presence of Belarusian manufacturing companies in Afghanistan.
Particular attention was given to companies producing tractors, industrial machinery, and equipment and vehicles used in the mining sector.
The second International Industrial Exhibition of Belarus is being held with the participation of around 500 companies from different countries. The exhibition has also attracted visitors from European and Asian countries.
Business
Afghanistan, Tajikistan seek stronger trade and investment ties
The two sides discussed increasing trade exchanges, establishing direct links between traders and investors, and organizing joint economic programs.
The heads of the chambers of commerce and industry of Afghanistan and Tajikistan have agreed to strengthen bilateral trade, promote investment and expand cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries.
Sayed Karim Hashemi, head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), held an online meeting with Farhad Shah Rahman Alizoda, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tajikistan, to discuss ways to expand economic ties.
The two sides discussed increasing trade exchanges, establishing direct links between traders and investors, and organizing joint economic programs.
Hashemi invited Tajik traders and investors to participate in the fifth Imam Abu Hanifa International Exhibition in Kabul.
Alizoda, meanwhile, invited an Afghan business delegation to attend a major trade and industrial exhibition in Dushanbe.
The two sides also stressed the importance of exchanging business delegations and developing long-term cooperation between the private sectors of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
Business
Kazakhstan grain shipments to Afghanistan rise over 4-fold
Of the total, 7.2 million tons were transported for export, while 2.1 million tons were supplied to the domestic market.
Grain shipments from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan increased 4.4 times in the first eight months of the year, reaching 655,000 tons, according to Kazakhstan’s Transport Vice Minister Zhanibek Taizhanov.
Speaking at a government meeting, Taizhanov said Kazakhstan transported 9.3 million tons of grain by rail during the period, a 13% increase compared with the same period in 2025.
Of the total, 7.2 million tons were transported for export, while 2.1 million tons were supplied to the domestic market.
Taizhanov said grain shipments to Central Asia increased by 37%, while shipments to China rose by 34%. Grain exports through Russian ports also increased by 9%.
Meanwhile, combined fodder exports rose by 38% to 2.6 million tons.
Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov said the country plans to commission 15 additional vegetable storage facilities by the end of 2026, with a combined capacity of 129,000 tons.
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