Herat Set to Become a Hub for Economic Cooperation with Kazakhstan

DID Press: Kazakhstan is seeking to expand trade and economic cooperation between its western regions and western Afghanistan through a new initiative called “West2West.”

A Kazakh government and business delegation led by Yerkin Tukumov, the country’s special representative of the president for Afghanistan, visited Herat in late September to discuss expanding trade, transit, investment and industrial cooperation with Afghan officials.

According to official Kazakh figures, bilateral trade reached $581.1 million in the first seven months of 2026, up from approximately $541.6 million in 2025. Kazakhstan’s main exports to Afghanistan include flour, wheat and vegetable oil.

During the visit, Kazakh companies and an Afghan company signed two wheat purchase agreements worth a combined $11 million. Discussions also covered the expansion of the Khaf–Herat railway, the establishment of logistics centers, agricultural processing, and cooperation in the mining and pharmaceutical sectors.

Kazakhstan had previously set a target of increasing bilateral trade to $3 billion. The new initiative aims to strengthen direct cooperation between regions and businesses, expand economic ties and reinforce Herat’s position as a major commercial and transit hub in Afghanistan.

However, several of the proposed projects remain under discussion, and their implementation will depend on further trade and investment agreements.