Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The experts’ attention is focused on the visit of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Tajikistan and Afghanistan Oleg Ivanov on 1-6 November to Kabul.

During the visit, the diplomat held a number of meetings with the heads of the Afghan ministries. In particular, Oleg Ivanov met with acting. Minister of Economy of Afghanistan, co-chairman of the joint Belarusian-Afghan committee for trade and economic cooperation K. Faryabi, acting Minister of Industry and Trade A. Goryani; and Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan M. Nab.

According to experts, the main purpose of the visit of the Belarusian Ambassador to Kabul is to discuss with the Afghan side the possibilities of expanding trade and economic cooperation between the countries.

In this context, it is important to note that in recent years Belarus has been considering Afghanistan as a promising economic partner. The dynamics of trade turnover between the countries shows a steady growth - if in 2017 the total volume of trade between them amounted to US$29.6 million, then in 2018 this figure increased to US$38.7 million.

Meanwhile, the most productive trade and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and Belarus was outlined in 2019.

- according to the results of 4 quarters, the trade turnover between the countries amounted to US$114.7 million, of which Belarusian exports – US$114.6 million dollars. Thus, over the year Belarus increased the supply of goods to Afghanistan by 296%.

The main export items of Belarus to Afghanistan are oil products, tractors and truck tractors, food products, parts and accessories for cars and tractors. Mainly vegetables and fruits are imported from the IRA to Belarus.

In this context, as follows from the statement of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Minsk intends to increase the supply of pharmaceutical products, engineering and petrochemical products, as well as food products to Afghanistan. During his meetings with the heads of the economic bloc of the IRA government, the Ambassador agreed on the organization of the second meeting of the joint Belarusian-Afghan committee in 2021 in Minsk.

In general, the results of the visit of the Ambassador of Belarus to Afghanistan testify to the plans of Minsk and Kabul to expand business ties and strengthen economic partnership. Experts believe that despite its geographic remoteness, Belarus shows impressive results in increasing exports to the IRA and developing the Afghan market.