Visiting Kabul, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin said on Monday that Astana is ready to invest $500 million in the construction of the Torghandi-Herat railway line in adding that a logistics and transport company would be established in Herat province to advance the project.

According to a press release from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, the only thing Kazakh delegation also announced readiness to launch an internet cable project that would provide Afghanistan with affordable internet access.

Zhumangarin said that Kazakh investors are ready to invest in various sectors, especially in Afghanistan’s mines, oil and gas, and their technical teams are visiting Kabul in this regard.

During the meeting, the Kazakh side expressed its readiness to issue visas to Afghan businessmen, start flights between the two countries, cooperate on banking, enhance bilateral trade, and cooperate in the health and education sectors.

Meanwhile, Mullah Baradar stressed that Afghanistan has a firm will to strengthen economic and trade relations with Kazakhstan and other countries in the region and for this purpose, it has recently signed a draft roadmap to increase the volume of trade between Kabul and Astana to $3 billion.

According to the Deputy Economic Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, with the implementation of this roadmap, there will be significant positive changes in various economic sectors such as trade, agriculture, mining, transport, transit, railway and industry and investments in these areas will increase.

Mullah Baradar said that the Islamic Emirate is ready to share investment opportunities in Afghanistan’s mines with Kazakhstan and sign agreements in the field of preservation and quarantine of agricultural and livestock products. The Deputy Prime Minister also stressed the need to expand banking relations between the two countries and joint cooperation in the development and exploration of Afghanistan’s oil fields.