According to Iraf, quoting TASS, Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, in a meeting yesterday (Friday, 25 Ordibehesht) with the Taliban delegation on the sidelines of the “Russia – World of Islam” Economic Forum in Kazan, reported the official request of the Taliban for sending Russian medical professors to Afghanistan.
He said the Taliban are seeking to utilize Russia’s educational and medical capacity to strengthen medical education at Afghanistan’s universities.
Overchuk explained that these discussions were not limited only to the education sector, and a set of economic issues was also on the agenda.
According to him, the Taliban are interested in importing Russian cars and agricultural products, and the two sides also negotiated about the continuation of fuel exports, investment cooperation, and increasing trade exchanges.
In this meeting, held with the presence of Neda Mohammad Nadim, Acting Minister of Higher Education of the Taliban, the two sides discussed expanding commercial cooperation, facilitating customs affairs, strengthening health and veterinary controls, and also utilizing Afghanistan’s transit capacity.
Overchuk emphasized that diplomatic relations between Moscow and Kabul are established, and regular contacts between responsible institutions continue.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia described the capacity to develop bilateral trade as “significant” but considered the current volume of exchanges low.
He said, based on Russian statistics, the trade between the two countries is about 326 million dollars, and according to Taliban statistics, close to 500 million dollars.
He added that data from the first two months of the current year show that the volume of mutual trade has increased by about 2.6 times.
The seventeenth “Russia – World of Islam” Economic Forum is being held from 22 to 27 Ordibehesht in Kazan, and a Taliban delegation is also present at this event; a presence which, from Moscow’s perspective, is assessed as a sign of the Taliban’s effort to expand economic, educational, and transit relations with Russia.
