A supply route from China to Afghanistan through Kazakhstan is being developed

During special industry panel sessions and a bilateral meeting between Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and Afghanistan’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nuriddin Azizi, held on October 21 in Almaty, key logistics issues of the supply route from China to Afghanistan and back through Kazakhstan were discussed. The possibility of creating seamless logistics was also considered, as reported by Kazinform. One of the main issues discussed was the reverse loading of wagons and containers, essential for reducing logistics costs. Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration Kairat Torebayev noted that Kazakhstan has analyzed potential goods for import from Afghanistan to enable backloading. Specifically, Kazakhstan is interested in importing fruits and vegetables, persimmons, beans, and other food items. Bauyrzhan Urunbasarov, Managing Director of Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ), proposed two options for loading empty containers and wagons on the return trip. “Considering the difficulties of returning empty containers, we suggest the Afghan side explore options for establishing circular train movement: containers with goods from China go to Kazakhstan, then to Afghanistan, where they’re loaded with Afghan goods bound for China, and routed via the port of Karachi,” Urunbasarov explained. “The second option involves the train reaching Afghanistan, being loaded with Afghan goods, then transported to Kazakhstan, where it is reloaded with Kazakh goods and sent to China.” To increase bilateral trade volumes to USD 3 billion, the participants also discussed the need to draft and sign documents on road transport and quarantine requirements to facilitate seamless imports. Both parties examined the feasibility of establishing a logistics hub for Afghan goods along the China-Kazakhstan-Afghanistan route, which could significantly reduce logistics costs. Zhumangarin proposed that Afghanistan utilize Kazakhstan’s dry port facilities in Xi’an, the Kazakhstan-China logistics terminal in Lianyungang, and, in the future, the terminal under construction at the Urumqi dry port. “We can streamline logistics, but to significantly intensify our bilateral relations, we need industrial cooperation projects,” emphasized Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister. As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed to organize an interregional Kazakhstan-Afghanistan forum where Afghan provinces and Kazakh regions can discuss and develop mutually beneficial cooperation projects. From January to August 2024, trade between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan totaled USD 330.7 million, with Kazakh exports to Afghanistan reaching USD 316.5 million, including flour, sunflower oil, natural gas, and fertilizers. Afghan imports amounted to USD 14.1 million, with primary goods being mineral water, fruits, juices, and aluminum products. In 2023 alone, Kazakhstan exported over USD 615 million worth of goods to Afghanistan.