Iranian Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh has described his recent visit to Kabul as “satisfactory,” saying new arrangements have been agreed to facilitate Iranian exports of red meat, poultry and cottonseed meal to Afghanistan as Tehran and Kabul seek to expand agricultural and trade ties.
Nouri Ghezeljeh said after concluding his official visit to Kabul that talks with Taliban officials had been satisfactory and had opened a new path for expanding agricultural trade between Iran and Afghanistan.
He said practical measures had been finalized to ease the export of Iranian agricultural products to Afghanistan, including red meat, chicken and cottonseed meal.
The measures include technical, health and transit coordination, which could speed up the movement of agricultural goods and reduce transportation costs, the minister said.
During his visit, Nouri Ghezeljeh held meetings with senior Afghan economic and trade officials to discuss a range of issues related to bilateral commerce and agricultural cooperation.
The two sides emphasized expanding trade, removing transit barriers, strengthening the role of the private sector and increasing two-way exports, according to reports.
Nouri Ghezeljeh also visited Afghanistan’s first international agriculture and livestock exhibition in Kabul, where he assessed the country’s production capacity. He said Iran was ready to expand cooperation with Afghanistan in technical and training fields as well as agricultural infrastructure development.
Economic discussions in Kabul also covered improving transit routes, making greater use of Iran’s Chabahar port, reducing truck waiting times, providing refrigerated containers and easing border inspections. Such measures are particularly important for the movement of seasonal and perishable agricultural goods.
The timing of the visit, alongside the international agriculture exhibition in Kabul, also provided an opportunity for the two sides to examine potential cooperation in production, agro-processing, livestock farming and water-resource management, economic analysts said.
Economic relations between Iran and Afghanistan have in recent years focused increasingly on agriculture, livestock, transit and border trade.
Iran is one of the main routes for Afghan exports to international markets, while the two countries have sought to establish joint mechanisms to increase the volume of bilateral trade.
Officials from both sides have recently discussed the prospect of raising annual bilateral trade to as much as $10 billion.
The new export arrangements come as Iran and Afghanistan seek to turn growing economic engagement into more practical trade links, with agricultural products and transit infrastructure emerging as key areas of cooperation.
