Afghan and Russian Firms Sign 15 Economic Cooperation MOUs Worth $103 Million in Kabul During Deputy PM Overchuk's Visit
The Afghan government said late on November 12 that Afghan and Russian private-sector companies had signed 15 memorandums of understanding on economic cooperation worth $103 million in Kabul that day. The signing took place during a visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, and was attended by Afghanistan's Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Abdul Ghani Baradar.
According to the Afghan government statement, the memorandums cover imports of medicines, wheat, flour and cooking oil into Afghanistan, exports of Afghan fresh fruit, particularly pomegranates, to Russia, and the expansion of bilateral trade relations. No timetable for implementing the agreements was announced.
Overchuk said bilateral trade more than doubled in the first eight months of 2026 to over $349 million. His Kabul visit follows talks in Moscow in October between Overchuk and Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, which focused on trade, energy cooperation and transport links.
Russia's Sputnik news agency has reported that a large-scale intergovernmental agreement on trade and economic cooperation is also being prepared for signing, covering trade, energy, transport, healthcare, agriculture and information technology, as well as simplified business visas.
Russia became the first, and so far remains the only, country to formally recognise Afghanistan's Taliban government, in July 2025.
(Source: Government of Afghanistan)
Source: Government of Afghanistan
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：俄罗斯副总理 Alexei Overchuk 官方肖像（资料图）。俄罗斯政府供图，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Official portrait of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk (file photo). Government of Russia, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
