An expo of Afghan products opened officially in Almaty, in Kazakhstan on Sunday in the presence of Afghanistan’s acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nooruddin Azizi and Serik Zhumangarin, the deputy prime minister of the host country.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the expo, Azizi welcomed the initiative and said such events were effective in expanding trade and business relations between the two countries.

Zhumangarin said in turn that Astana is interested in maintaining commercial, economic, transportation, logistics and energy relations with Kabul.

The expo will be held over three days and Afghan products are being displayed in more than 70 booths.

On display are numerous products from Afghanistan including carpets, jewelry, construction materials, household and industrial chemicals, vegetables, fruit, and food products.

The expo runs from October 20 to 22, at the Atakent Exhibition Center in Almaty, and over 250 Afghan traders are taking part.

Kazakhstan has increased efforts recently to boost trade with Afghanistan and in June, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that his country had removed the Islamic Emirate from its list of militant organizations.

In late August, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry then accredited a chargé d’affaires of Afghanistan in order to expand trade, financial, and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries.

Afghanistan exported saffron and Ferula assa-foetida worth $77.5 million over the past six months, the spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad said.

The country has exported 18 tons of saffron worth $20.5 million and 617 tons of ferula assa-foetida worth $57 million during the cited period through August, the official said.

According to Jawad, these two spices have been mostly exported to China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Spain, Germany, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, the United States, and Britain.

Ferula assa-foetida, with its yellow flower and massive root, is native to Central Asia and eastern Iran, and is grown in Afghanistan, from where it is exported to the rest of the world.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock has provided training to local farmers in its efforts to promote saffron and ferula asafetida production in Afghanistan.

Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi on Friday left for Kazakhstan’s Almaty, leading a delegation of public and private sector representatives.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement that the purpose of the delegation's trip is to hold an exhibition of Afghan products in Kazakhstan, participate in a business forum, and meet with Kazakh officials.

More than 250 people, including the Deputy Minister of Mines and Petroleum, the head of Investment Facilitation of the Directorate of Administrative Affairs, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the office of economic deputy of the prime minister, Da Afghanistan Bank and members of the private sector, are accompanying Azizi on the visit.