Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan held high-level talks in Kabul aimed at strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations, officials said.

The meeting brought together Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and Bakyt Sadykov, Minister of Economy and Trade of the Kyrgyz Republic, who is leading a visiting delegation to the Afghan capital.

Azizi welcomed the Kyrgyz delegation and thanked them for visiting Kabul, underscoring the importance of closer economic engagement between the two countries.

During the talks, both sides discussed ways to boost bilateral trade by making better use of existing capacities and identifying priority export commodities.

The discussions also focused on developing transit routes, signing transit agreements, attracting joint domestic and foreign investment, and expanding cooperation through trade exhibitions, business conferences and regular meetings.

The two ministers stressed the need to implement earlier agreements, particularly the economic and trade cooperation roadmap signed during a previous visit by an Afghan delegation to Kyrgyzstan.

They said effective follow-up on these commitments would be key to translating discussions into tangible results.

Officials from both countries said the meeting was intended to deepen economic, trade and investment ties, while opening new avenues for partnership between Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan in the coming period.

Amnesty International on Tuesday called on world leaders to immediately stop the forced return of refugees and asylum seekers to Afghanistan, citing serious human rights concerns and warning that such actions violate international law.

In a statement, the rights group said millions of Afghan refugees were unlawfully deported in 2025 from countries including Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Germany, despite the human rights situation inside Afghanistan. Amnesty said the returns have taken place amid intensified restrictions on fundamental freedoms, particularly affecting women and girls.

According to the organization, ongoing violations include limits on freedom of movement, bans on women working with the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, and the continued exclusion of girls above the age of 12 from education.

Amnesty International’s Regional Director for South Asia, Smriti Singh, said the forced deportations ignore the reasons Afghans fled their country in the first place. “This rush to forcibly return people to Afghanistan disregards the serious dangers they face if sent back,” she said, adding that such actions violate the binding international principle of non-refoulement.

Rights groups claim the human rights situation in Afghanistan has significantly deteriorated since the Islamic Emirate regained power in 2021, with restrictions on media freedom and women’s rights drawing widespread international concern. In October, the United Nations established an independent investigative mechanism to examine alleged international crimes and violations of international law in the country.

The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly rejected such allegations, stating that the rights of citizens are protected within the framework of Sharia law.