Afghan and Russian private-sector representatives signed 15 memorandums worth $103 million in Kabul on Nov. 12, as Kabul sought Russian investment and wider access for Afghan exports.
Afghanistan’s Government Media and Information Center (GMIC) said the package spans Afghan purchases of medicine, wheat, flour and cooking oil, as well as fresh-produce sales in Russia, with pomegranates singled out. The announcement did not identify the companies involved or give individual memorandum values. It provided no delivery schedule or implementation status for the agreements.
At a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, invited Russian capital for projects in health care, telecommunications, agriculture, infrastructure, energy, industry, oil and gas, and mining. Baradar’s office said he sought easier entry for Afghan goods to Russian markets, lower transit and transportation costs, and simpler customs procedures.
The office also named cotton, grapes, saffron, pine nuts and pomegranates among products Afghanistan wants to export more to Russia. It said Kabul sought steps to ease long-term Russian visa issuance for Afghan traders.
Afghan government accounts gave different figures for the visiting group. The Prime Minister’s Office cited Overchuk as putting the private-sector contingent at about 70. Baradar’s office described a 130-person delegation that included officials, investors, traders and industrialists; the accounts did not explain how the totals related.
Overchuk also described growth in bilateral trade. Interfax quoted him as saying the total topped $349 million from January through August 2026, more than double the figure for the same period a year earlier. He said exports from Russia to Afghanistan grew by a factor of 2.1, while the corresponding Afghan exports to Russia rose by 2.2.
Afghanistan’s Prime Minister’s Office said Mohammad Hassan Akhund also met Overchuk and thanked Moscow for its international support, citing Russia’s recognition of his government.
