The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) said that the amount of Afghanistan’s exports in 2023 was close to two billion dollars, with the largest exports going to Pakistan, India, China, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, the spokesman of MoCI, emphasized that although the export of coal decreased and there were problems in the trade sector with neighboring countries, the amount of exports has increased.

According to the MoCI, the amount of Afghan exports to other countries increased by 2% in 2023.

Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad told TOLOnews: “Afghanistan has exported $1.9 billion dollars in 2023. The above figure shows a 2% increase, which is equal to $41 million dollars, despite the restoration of the Salang highway, the reduction of coal exports and the problems of neighboring countries.”

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) said that currently Afghanistan trades with all countries in the region and the world, and in order to develop trade, the world needs to remove restrictions on the private sector.

Mohammad Yunus Momand, the first deputy of the ACCI, said: “We export to all countries of the world. We export to Europe, Australia, Canada and important countries of the world. You will not find a country where Afghan fruit is not found or Afghanistan dry fruit is not there.”

Meanwhile, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, on his visit to Iran, at the meeting of the Afghanistan-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce on December 26, 2023, said that currently business activities in the country have developed and they are trying to connect to China through the Wakhan Corridor.

Muttaqi said that Iranian investors can invest in the agricultural and mining sectors in Afghanistan.

Muttaqi said: “Now Afghanistan is the best way between South Asia and Central Asia. The government has decided to connect with China through the Wakhan Corridor. As South Asia and Central Asia are connected, we decide to connect North and South as well. China will be connected to Central Asia, to Iran, and through Iran to the world.”

Earlier, the Acting Minister of MoCI in an interview told TOLOnews that Afghanistan has established trade relations with sixty countries.